EU calls for international observers to probe clashes in Camp Ashraf

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on 9 April that the EU was “deeply disturbed at reports of the use of force against Camp Ashraf residents in Iraq, resulting in casualties.” Deploring the loss of life, Ashton called on the Iraqi government “to grant access to Camp Ashraf to independent international observers in order that they can provide a comprehensive picture of the situation.” (Read her statement: http://www.eu-un.europa.eu/articles/fr/article_10934_fr.htm)

According to information obtained by Reporters Without Borders, a young woman who was filming the events in Camp Ashraf, Saba Haftbaradaran, and a journalist working for the satellite TV station Iranntv.com, Asieh Rakhshani, were killed on 8 April. https://www.yousendit.com/download/UFhza0ZhU1BnYU5FQlE9PQ

The independent international observers who are sent to Iraq to investigate the events in Camp Ashraf must shed light on the circumstances of the deaths of these two young women, along with the deaths of all the other people killed by the Iraqi army in the course of the clashes of the past few days, Reporters Without Borders said. Those responsible must be punished. Impunity must not be the rule in Iraq today.

Maliki intends to push the wounded towards gradual death

Ashraf military occupation – No. 44

NCRI – Sunday night,   April 10, 32 injured residents who were admitted to the hospital in Baquba, were returned to Camp Ashraf with the least of the medical care given to them while at captivity.

The injured generally needed surgery or had a critical medical condition for which they were taken to Baquba hospital.

Abraham Mohammadian   was one of the wounded residents who should have been operated on, Saturday morning. His operation was postponed to Sunday. On Sunday morning in preparation for the operation he was given a unit of blood, but no further action was taken; later he was returned to Camp Ashraf.

Isa Akbarzadeh another one of the injured residents who was admitted to Baquba by a medical doctor, was returned to Ashraf after less than a quarter of an hour without any medical care.

Alireza Taherlou, another Ashraf resident who was wounded on Ashraf on April 8 died. Number of dead is now 34

Camp Ashraf military occupation- No. 41

NCRI – This morning, Monday, April 11, ALireza Taherlou, who was wounded during the raid on Ashraf on April 8 upon Maleki’s order, died in a hospital in Baghdad due to lack of medical care. The number of Ashraf residents who were slain as a result of the raid has reached 34.

Alireza Taherlou, who took part in the resistance for three decades, spent 10 years in the jails of the clerical regime and was severely tortured.

A number of Ashraf residents who were wounded during the raid have died due to lack of medical facilities in Ashraf due to  two years of blockade imposed on Ashraf or in Iraqi hospitals due to  lack of care.  The Iraqi suppressive forces that control the wounded Ashraf residents in Baghdad and Baqube hospitals create obstruction in the treatment of the patients and prevent them from receiving the minimum essential care.

The Iranian Resistance from the early hours of Friday, April 8 had warned that if the wounded would not be transferred to the hospital of the US forces near Ashraf, a number of them will die and the US would be responsible since it had signed an agreement with every Ashraf resident and had accepted the responsibility of their protection.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
April 11, 2011

Ashraf cemetery occupied and destroyed

Camp Ashraf military occupation- No37

Iraqi forces prevent residents from visiting the graves of loved ones.

NCRI – On the third day of their criminal attack on Ashraf, Maliki-led forces are engaged in robbing and plundering the possessions of the residents and are preventing the residents from returning to the occupied areas.

 

In an inhumane and un-Islamic act, the Iraqi forces have occupied and destroyed parts of the “Pearl Cemetery” belonging to Ashraf residents, preventing them from burying their dead and visiting their loved ones as they have done during the past 20 years.

Measures taken by the Iraqi forces against camp residents under the order of Maliki , ranging from entry to civilian areas using armored personnel carrier vehicles,  firing on civilian population using machine guns and cannons, killing unarmed residents, prevented medical services from reaching  the injured, occupation and destruction of cemetery, looting their property and assets, and cutting off of water pumps …. Are all examples of war crimes and are considered crimes against humanity, for which Maliki and and his accomplices should be tried and punished.

Secretariat of National Council of Resistance of Iran
10 April, 2011

US ‘may have broken international law’ over Iraqi attack on Iranian camp

Camp Ashraf residents carry an Iranian who they say was wounded in a raid by Iraqi forces. Photograph: Reuters

Iraqi forces have stormed a camp of Iranian dissidents in north-eastern Iraq amid warnings that the US government may have broken international law by failing to protect the camp.

An Iraqi general, Ali Ghaidan, confirmed that an operation took place in the early morning at Camp Ashraf, home to 3,500 Iranian exiles, all members of the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) militia. He said no one was killed, but representatives of the group in London said 23 people died including six women.

A hospital official in Baquba, capital of the Diyala province, reported three deaths and 13 wounded. The figures could not be confirmed as access to the camp, whose residents have “protected persons” status under the Geneva convention, is restricted.

Ghaidan said troops were responding to exiles who had been throwing stones and throwing themselves in front of soldiers’ trucks over the past several days. The group’s supporters in London, who had been warning of an attack, said Iraqi forces used metal bars, sticks and batons to beat the residents and opened fire on the camp. The supporters called for urgent UN and US intervention.

Journalists denied entry to Camp Ashraf after Iraqi army attack

Reporters Without Borders condemns the news blackout imposed by the Iraqi authorities on events at Camp Ashraf, a camp in northern Iraq that houses 3,500 Iranian exiles. An attack by the Iraqi army yesterday reportedly resulted in the deaths of around 30 residents and many wounded.

“This news blackout is unacceptable,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The security forces are denying journalists access to the camp to hide abuses committed against civilians. Anyone trying to take photographs of the clashes is being attacked in a systematic and targeted fashion.”

PDKI condemns Iraqi forces raid of Camp Ashraf

April 8, 2011 – Iraqi security forces in bulldozers and Humvees barreled into a camp that is home to an Iranian opposition group early Friday, sources reported.

The details of what happened were in dispute, with Iraqi security forces saying three people were killed after residents hurled stones at soldiers, and a camp spokesman saying at least 31 people were killed in an unprovoked attack intended to harass them into leaving, Washington Post reported.

Traveling to Erbil, the capital city of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, Gates said U.S. officials were monitoring reports of the clash from “nearby” and are “very concerned with reports of deaths.”  He stated “I urge the Iraqi government to show restraint and live up to their commitments to treat the residents of Ashraf in accordance with Iraqi law and their international obligations,”.

The Political Bureau of Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan condemned the raid on the Camp belonging to the Peoples’ Mojahidin and expressed solidarity with the residents of the camp: The Political Bureau of PDKI considers this raid by the Iraqi army in apparent violation of human rights and condemns it.  In the meantime, along with expressing solidarity with the Peoples’ Mojahidin of Iran, we convey our condolences to the families of the victims of this unjustified act.

The statement also appealed to international humanitarian organization in particular the United Nations to take necessary measures to end such acts by the Iraqi army and safeguard the lives of the inhabitants of the Camp.

In a similar raid in July 28, 2010 that left scores dead and injured in the Camp, PDKI in a statement condemned the act: Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran considers the Iraqi Army’s actions in this regard unjust, inexcusable and uncalled for and appeals to the United Nations and organization defending the rights of peoples and refugees and the coalition forces in particular to raise their concerns and take necessary measures to prevent such unwarranted operations in the future.

© 2011, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan | PDKI. All rights reserved.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards Qods terrorist Force directly participated in Ashraf Attack

NCRI – According to reports from inside the Iranian regime, a number of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Qods terrorist Force directly participated in the April 8 deadly attack on Ashraf. When some of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were faced with the resistance of the residents, especially the unarmed women, lost their control and furiously insulted them in “Persian”.

The regime’s Revolutionary Guards in several cases fired upon residents carrying the injured on stretchers killing and injuring many of the residents.

Based on these reports, a number of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards remain in force amongst the Iraqi forces occupying residential areas of Ashraf.

A month prior to the April 8 brutal invasion of Ashraf, the terrorist Qods Force commanders carried out reconnaissance operations in Iraqi Army vehicles with tinted glass inside Ashraf.  The residents reported these incidences to the United Nations and US forces and called for preventive action.

Iraq police interrogate six Iran exiles after Ashraf clash

Iraqi authorities are interrogating six members of an Iranian exile group who were arrested during deadly clashes with the Iraqi army, police said Monday. Meanwhile, the US military said the Iraqi government had allowed entry to a medical assistance team after initially denying permission to enter Camp Ashraf, the rebel base 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Baghdad. “Six members of the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran (PMOI) were arrested and are being questioned at the Khalis prison,” the police official said. The jail is about 20 kilometres (12.5 miles) south of Camp Ashraf, where members of the Iranian exile group clashed with Iraqi security forces on Friday. The PMOI said that 33 people were killed and 300 wounded in the incident, but Iraqi security and hospital sources said three were killed. The rebels say that Iraqi security forces were surrounding the camp, refusing access to journalists or humanitarian aid for the wounded. The US military acknowledged it was initially denied access for medical assistance, but said late Sunday a medical team had finally been allowed in to “provide any essential humanitarian medical assistance that may be required”. “The results of this medical assistance and our assessment of medical conditions is being provided to the Iraqi government, which will authorize any further assistance that may be required,” the military said in a statement. “As our entrance into the camp was purely for humanitarian purposes on behalf of the Iraqi government, we will only provide the results of that visit to Iraqi officials,” it added. After the clashes, the United States said it was urging Iraqi officials “at the highest levels” to avoid violence and show restraint. The PMOI used Camp Ashraf, which houses some 3,500 people, as a base for launching attacks on Iran during the rule of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein but US forces disarmed the group after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Since then the camp’s residents have been protected under the Geneva Conventions and were guarded by US troops, although Washington still officially considers the PMOI to be a terrorist organisation. A left-wing Islamic movement, the PMOI was founded in 1965 in opposition to the Shah of Iran and has subsequently fought to oust the clerical regime that took power in Tehran after Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. Iran, which has jailed or executed many members of the outlawed organisation, hailed Iraq’s actions on Saturday.

CNN report on Camp Ashraf – 15 december 2009