Iraqi army officer assaulted by armed group in public

Shafaq News/ An Iraqi army officer was assaulted by an armed group in the capital Baghdad on Tuesday, in what security sources described as an unprecedented incident.

A widely circulated video on social media showed the altercation in the crowded Mansour district. The footage depicts the officer engaged in a physical confrontation with unidentified armed men, though the cause of the dispute remains unclear.

Security sources and eyewitnesses told Shafaq News Agency the argument escalated rapidly, with the armed individuals stripping the officer of his military badge in public view. The incident caused panic and chaos in the area, with bystanders attempting but ultimately failing to intervene due to safety concerns.

The exact date of the video could not be independently verified. However, a security source speaking on condition of anonymity said the incident stemmed from a disagreement with bodyguards affiliated with an armed faction.

Iraq is home to one of the fastest-growing arms markets in the world, a concerning share of which is falling into the hands of organized crime groups, driven by conflict as well as fuelling it. Meanwhile, ongoing regional instability and government failure to address people's security needs are driving civilians to the illicit arms market for self-protection.

The results of the 2021 Global Organized Crime Index show that Western Asia is the region with the world's most pervasive arms market, with an average score of 7.25 out of 10, compared to the global average of 4.92. Longstanding conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, among others, have spurred an influx of small arms and heavy weaponry to these countries while neighbouring states become increasingly weaponized. In Jordan, for example, civilian gun ownership has become commonplace and arms are widely sold in bazaars for anyone who can afford them. Over 90 per cent of the weapons used in violent crimes in the country are found to have been purchased illegally. Western Asia's appetite for arms is both a cause and effect of conflicts that continue to rage on.

The countries with the highest arms trafficking scores under the Index are all involved in conflict in one way or another. Iraq -along with Syria, Yemen and Turkey- scored 9 out of 10 on this indicator, only outranked by Libya (9.5), which serves as a primary source country for arms flowing into the region. Other factors that have driven demand include the long-standing tensions between Israel and Arab states, the Kurdish quest for independence, and the still-unfolding consequences of political Islamism in Iraq, Syria, and neighboring states. Alongside direct supplies from foreign governments, weapons also derive from past conflicts in the region and beyond. Leftover arsenals from the 1980s Iran–Iraq war are still circulating in both countries today, while Soviet-era weapons used in the 1990s Yugoslav wars have fallen into rebel hands amid Syria’s decade-long civil war.

In Iraq where the authorities have failed to reduce robbery and clan disputes over the past years, so-called "house guns" are becoming increasingly popular. According to the Small Arms Survey, nearly 20 percent of Iraq’s population owned a gun in 2021; in Lebanon, the figure is 32 percent. Not only is the weaponization of civil society a bleak indicator of the growing mistrust towards the government, but it also increases opportunities for arms to (re-)enter the black market, particularly when further social unrest inevitably erupts.

Iraq, however, did not become one of the world's largest illicit arms depots overnight. The state-driven flooding of arms, lack of oversight mechanisms, limited law enforcement capabilities, and the lack of international cooperation are all factors that have contributed to the country's most destabilizing actors exploiting the proliferation of arms. This has perpetuated the vicious cycle of conflict that has plagued not only Iraq but the entire Middle East, for decades.