§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many firearms and other portable weapons have been seized and destroyed in Kosovo by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo and the Kosovo Force since these organisations were established in 1999; and what is their estimate of the number of authorised firearms in private ownership. [HL4810]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanAccording to the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) statistics, the following weapons have been seized by the Kosovo Force (KFOR) since their arrival in Kosovo in 1999. This includes weapons handed in as part of general amnesties:
- 3,631 Rifles
- 1,249 Pistols
- 116 Support Weapons (Heavy mortars etc)
- 1,257 Anti-tank weapons
- 270 Rockets/Missiles
- 13,525 Grenades/Mines
- 17,537 Miscellaneous items (uniforms/gas masks etc)
- 766,475 Rounds of ammunition
UNMIK has also issued 164 weapon authorised cards (WAC) for defensive weapons only since 1999. UNMIK receives an average of five WAC applications per week. 35 WACs have been issued to date in 2003. A further 26,000 weapon registration cards (WRC) have been issued for hunting and recreational weapons only. There are currently 7,000 outstanding WRC applications.
6WAThe UN Development Programme estimates that at present there are approximately 400,000 illegal weapons in Kosovo.