Last year, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani ordered the shutdown of all firearms selling markets and the confiscation of unlicensed weapons, in light of the killing of two university academics by a former student days prior.
The interior ministry said on Sunday that the Weapons Law No.2 of 2022 has been in effect since July 22, which grants unregistered citizens a grace period of two months to register their weapons to be exempt from penalties.
“We call on our dear citizens to take advantage of those 60 days. Those who have not registered their weapons can visit the aforementioned directorates to officially apply for a license to carry weapons.” The ministry added, while also warning of the penalties for carrying unlicensed firearms.
The firearms were registered through 90 centers the ministry had opened over the past year.
The Kurdistan Region has long maintained a lax firearms black market, where sniper rifles and machine guns are purchased in a region where an estimated 70 percent of the population own weapons.
Section 1 of Article 15 of the KRG’s Weapons Law No.2 of 2022 states that anyone carrying, repairing, or selling firearms without a license is publishable by a detention period of at least one year but not exceeding two years, plus a fine of at least two million Iraqi dinars but not exceeding five million.
Section 2 of Article 15 of the KRG’s Weapons Law No.2 of 2022 states that if a licensed citizen carries a weapon during a demonstration or a gathering, they are punishable by a detention period of at least three years, plus a fine of at least five million Iraqi dinars but not exceeding 10 million. The penalty increases to a detention period not exceeding seven years if the individual has carried the weapon without a license.
