From: [C reuters] at [clari.net] (Reuters)
Newsgroups: clari.world.mideast.iran,clari.news.issues.guns,clari.news.issues.misc
Subject: Iran says 65,000 guns turned in under amnesty plan
Organization: Copyright 1996 by Reuters
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 10:50:13 PDT
Expires: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 10:50:13 PDT
                                         
         TEHRAN, Iran (Reuter) - Iranians have turned in 65,000  
illegal guns to authorities under an amnesty plan launched six 
months ago, a newspaper said Thursday. 
         The daily Ettelaat quoted deputy national police chief Gen.  
Mohsen Ansari as saying the military and hunting weapons were 
turned in under the amnesty plan announced in February. 
         Officials earlier this week announced a two-month extension  
of the plan which included an amnesty for people charged with 
illegal weapons possession or arms smuggling and a six-month 
grace period to hand over unlicenced guns and ammunition to 
authorities. The measure followed a previous amnesty in 1983. 
         Newspaper have in recent months reported an increasing  
number of armed robberies, including by criminals disguised as 
police or security officers. 
         Newspapers said Thursday police killed two armed robbers in  
a plush north Tehran suburb after they opened fire on officers. 
         Large amounts of arms and ammunitions fell into civilian  
hands in the 1979 Islamic revolution and during the 1980-1988 
Iran-Iraq war. 
         Several Iranian tribes and other ethnic groups, such as the  
Kurds and the Baluchis, have traditionally been armed and 
occasional clashes are reported between government forces and 
armed rebels or drug smugglers.