US-led coalition to ban heavy weapons in Iraq, require permits

BAGHDAD (AFP) May 23, 2003
The US-led coalition in Iraq expects to ban all heavy and automatic weapons and require permits for small arms within 30 days, Lieutenant General David McKiernan told reporters on Friday.

The new ban, which has yet to be approved by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, would not come into effect until after an amnesty period to hand in weapons, expected to last two weeks, he said.

"The policy will be that you must come to one of the designated areas, which will probably be police stations, and apply for a weapons permit," he said.

"The issuance of the weapons permits would be done jointly by Iraqi police and coalition forces," McKiernan said.

The US commander of ground forces here added that celebratory fire would also be outlawed, but Kurdish peshmerga (fighters) in the formerly rebel-held areas of northern Iraq would be allowed to retain heavier weapons.

WAR.WIRE