Iraqi Tribe Hands Over More Than 2,500 Weapons to Government Authorities
The Shuwailat tribe surrendered more than 2,500 weapons for registration as Iraq expands a government campaign to bring an estimated six million unlicensed weapons under state control.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The Shuwailat tribe handed over more than 2,500 weapons to Iraqi security authorities for registration on Friday, in a new step in the government’s campaign to regulate unlicensed firearms under state control.
The formal handover and registration ceremony was held in the presence of tribal leaders and religious figures.
Speaking at a press conference during the ceremony, Mansour Ali, director of weapons control and regulation at Iraq’s Ministry of Interior, said weapons had historically been part of the country’s heritage and were used in 2014 to defend the homeland.
He said the government is now working gradually to regulate weapons under a program launched by the Iraqi Prime Minister in June 2024, with the aim of bringing an end to the widespread presence of unregulated weapons.
During the ceremony, Brig. Gen. Mansour Ali displayed the official weapons registration form and identification document before cameras.
He explained that the document issued to citizens is an official Iraqi state document containing a QR code and linked to the holder’s civil identification and personal data.
The registration permit is valid for five years and is issued entirely free of charge, with no fees collected from the holder.
Ali also said that, under a decision by Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, security authorities are not permitted to seize weapons covered by the official document, as the document serves as proof of legal ownership.
According to Ali, Article 6 of Iraq’s Weapons Law No. 51 of 2017 allows every family to register one light weapon, such as a handgun, rifle or hunting weapon, for self-protection.
The owner must be an Iraqi citizen, at least 25 years old and must not have committed a crime, he said.
Ali stressed that the purpose of the initiative is not to confiscate weapons but to regulate the estimated six million unlicensed weapons in Iraq.
He added that more than 2,500 weapons belonging to the Shuwailat tribe had been registered during Friday’s campaign alone.