Peregraf- Haval Zangana in Chamchamal
It's about to get dark, a number of armed men enter a house belonging to a government official, shooting 27 bullets at his car and his home, while people are left watching.
The incident occurred on 25 November 2018, near Mama Risha Bridge in Chamchamal district, Sulaimaniyah. The targeted official was Major Hemin Ali, the director of Confronting Domestic Violence.
They targeted Ali at 17:30 local time. Recalling the story for Peregraf, Ali said, "Alongside financial damage, my children have also become pyschologically unstable."
Chamchamal is famous, or rather infamous in this regard. Tens of such incidents happen, to an extent whenever issues of violence and shooting are brought up, people utter the name: Chamchamal.
However, this makes some of the youth unhappy, as they try to stand against guns in their district, through a campaign.
Peshawa Raouf, an activist from the campaign, Do Not Make Chamchamal Ugly, says the city possesses a bad image, and the purpose of their campaign is to change that reality.
The campaign has recently started and uses the influential properties of social media networks to raise awareness against the phenomenon of carrying guns. They publish many posters with slogans against firearms and appeal for gun control. Some of the slogans ask to raise their children with love, not with guns; others say that guns distort people's photos, not making them attractive.
Let our children to grow up with Love... Not with guns
The slogan of the Chamchamal campaign by youngsters
However, they want to change the venue, Raouf said, "We want to go on streets." With the help of another group, they try to raise awareness in public. They also do not only target Chamchamal, but they want to cover the whole of the Kurdistan Region.
For some, carrying guns might only be a necessity, while for others it is a sign of pride. Some publish their photos with weapons while shooting.
Dana Muhammad is a young man who has been carrying a pistol for years. He told Peregraf, "If the town had been secure, I would not be carrying a gun," he added, "I only carry it so influential people would not intimidate me."
Concerning the wave of photos featuring people with firearms, he said the move might be a reaction to the sons and relatives of influential people, as they share pictures with expensive guns.
Muhammad said the market was full of different kinds of firearms during the Islamic State (ISIS) war, and even now people could find anything they want.
Your photos with weapons do not look nice youngsters
The sale and purchase of guns are banned in the Kurdistan Region according to the law, but almost all towns feature markets which deal with the trade of firearms. They claim to work under the instructions of the security apparatus. Under the law, people can carry light guns only when approved by the government, and only when it is undoubtedly necessary.
A security source in Chamchamal claimed that the gun shops in the city have no license.
Raouf has removed 30 people from his friend list on Facebook. He had requested his friends to remove their photos with firearms; otherwise they would be removed from his friends' list.
Parliament, civil society organisations and activists, have often expressed their discontent with the phenomenon.
The mayor of Chamchamal, Ramik Ramazan, told Peregraf, "Although gun shops have no official license, they still had to fill information about weapons from the time they are handed to them by the security forces, including their daily sales."
Ramazan confirmed that during the ISIS war, KRG turned a blind eye to the phenomenon of carrying guns in the district, as it borders the Iraqi cities.
Guns have ruined countless lives... Do not be proud of it.
The slogan of the Chamchamal campaign by youngsters
The law 16 of 1993 bans the sale and purchase of guns in any kind, according to the general director at the Ministry of Interior, KRG, Sami Jalal. He says his ministry only issued instructions, not a license to the trade of guns.
The security forces often associate the phenomenon of people's firearms to the increasing number of murders.
Ali did not have much expectations with the authorities in his case. Although many people were arrested after the shooting, they were soon freed. However, he is hopeful that the security forces will, one day, close the gun markets.