Shafaq News/ A civilian was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in al-Hamidiyah district of eastern Baghdad on Saturday, a security source told Shafaq News Agency.

The source reported that the gunmen opened fire on the civilian, killing them instantly. 

"Security forces have cordoned off the area to investigate the incident and have taken the body to the forensic department," the source said. 

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 neighboring 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.