Firearm News
Lebanon
Lebanese Rush to Buy Weapons for Personal Security
30 December 2021
The National (Lebanon)
The business of firearms dealer Abdullah has been booming since Lebanon's economy collapsed.
He sells at least three rifles a day – Kalashnikovs are popular among households in fear for their safety as crime rates soar. He also sells boxes of ammunition and grenades.
An automatic rifle or machinegun costs between $400 and $1,400.
His sales have risen threefold since the financial crisis began in 2019, even though the dollar value of the minimum wage has dropped to... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: The National (Lebanon)
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United States,Switzerland,European Union,Egypt,Saudi Arabia,Yemen,Bahrain,United Arab Emirates,Qatar,Kuwait,Lebanon,Jordan
Arms Trade Treaty Member Nations Flout Gun Trade Rules [FR]
26 August 2016
SwissInfo
[Translated summary: Many countries that have signed the Arms Trade Treaty continue to ignore the rules. Only Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden have been completely transparent about their trade. US, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France and Italy continue to sell arms to Egypt which translates into the torture and death of hundreds of people.]
Disposer d'un traité sur le commerce des armes, c'est bien. Encore faut-il qu'il soit respecté. Pour Amnesty International, trop... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: SwissInfo
39750
Syria,Iraq,Jordan,Lebanon,Turkey,United States,Qatar,Saudi Arabia
Weapons of the Syrian War: Small Arms
19 July 2016
Defense One (USA)
Small arms were already plentiful in Syria before the war, thanks to years of Soviet and Russian support. More flooded in after the conflict began
First use: March 18, 2011. After the Assad regime detained more than a dozen teenagers as part of its Arab Spring crackdown, protesters burned down a police headquarters in the southern city of Dara'a. In response, police fired tear gas at protesters, and then opened fire on them.
Origin: Small arms were already plentiful... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Defense One (USA)
39587
Lebanon,Iraq,Jordan,Oman,Egypt,Saudi Arabia,Croatia,Israel,Kuwait,Germany,Spain,United Arab Emirates,Italy,Qatar,Switzerland,United States
World's Small Arms Trade Reached US$5.8 Billion in 2013
17 June 2016
Israel Homeland Security
The Small Arms Survey (SAS) released its annual Transfers and Transparency trade update for 2016, which reveals that the world's top and the largest of the smaller arms exporters conducted trade to the tune of $5.8bn in 2013. This represents an increase of 17 percent in small arms trade on 2012, which came in at $5bn flat.
The United States alone, the world's largest arms manufacturer and exporter, exported a record breaking $1.1bn worth of small arms in 2013. In a... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Israel Homeland Security
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Lebanon,Syria,Italy
Experts Concerned Over Italy's Well-Armed Gangsters Going 'Clean'
2 July 2013
Local (Italy)
Italian mafia homicides have fallen by almost half in recent years, underscoring the gangsters' ongoing shift into what look like legitimate business sectors, researchers said on Tuesday.
Anna Alvazzi del Frate, research director of the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey think-tank, told reporters that mafia killings in Italy dropped by 43 percent between 2007 and 2010, and that the trend was continuing.
"We think that this may be related to the increasing involvement of... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Local (Italy)
37625
Malaysia,Lebanon
Malaysian Journalist Dies in Lebanon Gun Accident
4 February 2013
New Straits Times (Malaysia)
KUALA LUMPUR - A Malaysian journalist was killed in a firearm accident in Lebanon on Saturday.
Claudia Theophilus, 42, who worked as a web producer with Al-Jazeera English news agency, died after a rifle - which she was looking at, went off accidentally about 2.30am (8.30am Malaysian time).
The incident happened in Baakleen - 45km from Beirut.
Malaysian ambassador to Lebanon Ilango Karuppannan said Theophilus died shortly after she arrived at a general hospital in... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: New Straits Times (Malaysia)
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Lebanon
Lebanon Army Arrests 18 Gunmen, Seizes Weapons in Tripoli
27 August 2012
Xinhua
BEIRUT - The Lebanese army said Sunday it has raided a site in the northern city of Tripoli where it detained 18 gunmen and seized two truckloads of weapons and ammunition.
According to a statement by the army's guidance directorate, the army raided al-Zahriyeh area in Al Qebbeh region in Tripoli after gunmen opened fire at one of the army patrols in the neighborhood.
"Army reinforcements were sent to the area, where they staged a major crackdown on the hideouts of... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Xinhua
36502
Iraq,Lebanon,Venezuela,United Arab Emirates,Canada,Syria
No Gun Control Plus Idle Youth Equals Recipe for Trouble - Opinion
6 June 2012
National (Abu Dhabi), Opinion
'The weapon first, fighting second," goes an Arabic proverb, which pretty much explains why there is so much conflict in the world today. But it also describes perfectly what I have had the misfortune of seeing as I've travelled and worked in war zones across the region.
I remember the time I was in Iraq, and the family I was staying with insisted that I carry some form of weapon as "defence" and protection. Even their grandmother carried a small hand gun in her purse... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: National (Abu Dhabi)
36217
Syria,Lebanon
Lebanese Dealer Describes Flourishing Business of Gun Smuggling into Syria
8 April 2012
Ya Libnan (Lebanon)
Wearing dark glasses as he sat in a fashionable Beirut cafe, Abu Abode, a Lebanese arms dealer, did not mince his words as he described the flourishing business of smuggling weapons into neighbouring Syria.
"Small arms and automatic rifles are in high demand by the Syrian rebels," Abu Abode, not his real name, told dpa.
Peaceful pro-democracy protests, which started in Syria in March 2011, have turned into an armed conflict between the government of President Bashar... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Ya Libnan (Lebanon)
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Lebanon
Beirut Politicians Demand 'A City Without Weapons' [FR]
20 December 2011
L'Orient-Le Jour (Beirut)
[Translated summary: Following a series of shootings in the streets of Beirut, several deputies of the city expressed their discontent and recommended "a city without weapons".]
Les députés de la capitale s'apprêtent à entamer une série de rencontres avec les trois pôles du pouvoir pour demander que les armes soient retirées des rues de Beyrouth.
Suite à une série d'incidents sécuritaires ces dernières semaines dans les rues de Beyrouth, au cours desquels... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: L'Orient-Le Jour (Beirut)
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Iran,Yemen,Turkey,Libya,Iraq,Lebanon,Syria
Syria's Alawites Go on Arms Shopping Spree
16 October 2011
Jerusalem Post (Israel)
Small arms are increasingly in demand inside volatile Syria, particularly among the country's Alawite minority, who fear they may face retaliation over the revolt against their co-religionist, President Bashar Assad.
Most of the weapons are being smuggled in from Lebanon, once an end user of small arms during the country's 15-year civil war that ended in 1990. Today, Lebanon is overflowing with automatic weapons, grenades and hunting rifles, all of which are in demand... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Jerusalem Post (Israel)
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Lebanon
Family Killings, Fear of Violence Prompt Lebanon to Tighten Gun Control
21 September 2011
Press TV (Beirut)
Lebanon has witnessed years of civil war and internal fighting. Lately, Lebanon is facing a phenomenon that surpasses any political agreement or even disagreement.
The ownership of personal guns has become something that many take for granted.
Three incidents in the last month led to the killing of several people in one family as a result of feuds, and others in mysterious circumstances. In one of those incidents a pump-action shot gun was used to kill a mother and... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Press TV (Beirut)
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Lebanon
Basketball Match in Stressed Lebanese Village Ends in Group Gunfight
5 September 2011
Daily Star (Beirut)
BEIRUT - Residents of Deir al-Qamar urged security forces and judicial authorities Sunday to impose the strictest punishment on those who attacked locals, following a dispute that broke out during a basketball game over the weekend.
The dispute between supporters of the Talaeh team of Deir al-Ahmar and Tawhid team of Jahiliyeh over the game's results escalated into gun fire when supporters of Tawhid, armed with knives, sticks and guns, attacked local residents. The... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Daily Star (Beirut)
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Lebanon,Syria
As Syrian Violence is Escalating, Guns Black Market Flourishes in Lebanon
14 May 2011
al Jazeera
As the Syrian uprisings escalate in violence, Lebanon's black market in arms is flourishing, with prices of light and medium weapons driven higher by Lebanese and Syrian demand.
"Prices have tripled in less than two months," says Wael, a local arms dealer, whose name has been changed to protect his identity.
According to local dealers, Syrians have been crossing the borders into neighbouring Lebanon to purchase weapons since late January, when the country erupted with... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: al Jazeera
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Lebanon
Illegal Gun Dealer Boasts He can't Keep Up with Demand in Lebanon
22 April 2011
Sydney Morning Herald
The Beiruti arms dealer Abu Jihad is more than an hour late to our pre-arranged meeting.
"I'm very sorry for the delay," says the balding father of four when he finally appears. "On the way here I made an unexpected sale. Two M16s."
Wearing green camouflage pants and a black parka, Abu Jihad sits down and reaches for the Smith & Wesson revolver strapped to his ankle. "I normally carry three weapons," he says, emptying the revolver of its bullets and spinning the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Sydney Morning Herald
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