Massacre at Camp Ashraf

Iraqi security forces today attacked Camp Ashraf, a base for a group of unarmed members of Mujahedeen Khalq Organization (MKO or MEK), massacring 47 people, including 9 patients at its clinic. Many experts believe that the attack was a coordinated action by the Iraqis and the Iranian government’s IRGC Quds Force (IRGC-QF).

Ashraf Camp, as well as Camp Hurriyah (formerly Camp Liberty) in the outskirts of Baghdad, which also houses unarmed MKO militants, is supposedly under the protection of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI). There was no immediate reaction to the massacre by the Iraqi authorities.

Blogger’s Note: Our condolences go out to the families, friends and comrades of the victims of this massacre and those who were injured in today’s attack. The Iraqi government is responsible for the well being of the injured and the safety of all the residents at Ashraf and Hurriyah.

Photo credit: Dead bodies at Camp Ashraf, 1 September 2013 (Twitter)

UN-Iraq Agreement on Camp Ashraf

The UN and the Iraqi government today signed an agreement to temporarily relocate several thousand Iranian exiles, members of Mojahedeen Khalq Organization (MKO) who are living at Camp Ashraf near the Iranian border, to Camp Liberty, a former US military base near Baghdad International Airport. The arrangement would allow the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to conduct interviews and to determine the refugee status of the camp residents as the first steps to relocate them to other countries. The agreement will prevent a near-certain humanitarian catastrophe that would have awaited the MKO members at Camp Ashraf by 31 December, the deadline set by the Iraqi government for the exiles to vacate Ashraf.

UN: Death Toll at Camp Ashraf at 34

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) today confirmed the reports that the Iraqi Army has massacred 34 Iranian exiles, all members of the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (MKO or MEK), during a raid on Camp Ashraf in Iraq. This is the first independent report on the death toll resulting from the 8 April attack. MKO had always maintained that more then 30 of the Camp residents were killed in the raid. The Iraqi government had first put the death toll at 3, then raised it to 12.

UNHRC Spokesman Rupert Colville said in Geneva that a team of UN observers saw 28 bodies still at the camp during a Wednesday visit to the compound in eastern Diyala province. Most of the bodies appeared to have been shot and some were women, he said. Three of the bodies appeared to have been crushed to death, likely from being run over by a vehicle.

"It's clearly a very serious incident and we are trying to get more information," Colville said. He said six bodies are elsewhere but did not clarify where, although observers said those bodies were at a nearby morgue.

The Iraqi army and police have blocked access to the camp for more than a year, following a similar raid in July 2009.

Seven Iranian Dissidents Killed at Camp Ashraf

Camp Ashraf . Enterance Gate

Attack on Camp Ashraf by Iraqi Security Forces. 28 July 2009

Seven Iranian dissidents have been killed at Camp Ashraf, 60 kilometers north of Baghdad, during a surprise raid by Iraqi military and security forces on Tuesday. The camp, in Diyala Province, is run by the Iranian opposition group Mujahideen Khalq Organization (MKO). Iraqi forces have surrounded the camp and clashes are continuing for a second day. The camp is home to some 3,000 MKO members.

Commander of US forces in Iraq, GEN Ray Odierno, said in Baghdad that the US had not been forewarned of the raid. After Saddam’s fall, the camp came under US control and was disarmed. Last month, the US relegated the control of the camp to Iraqi military. GEN Odierno told reporters last night that the Iraqis had promised at the time that they would treat the exiled Iranians humanely.

Amnesty International said today it was “seriously concerned” about the raid and killing of Iranian exiles. Video footage of the raid clearly shows Iraqi forces beating people repeatedly.