Thursday, 30th July 2009
Refugee camp attacked by Iraqi forces
At around 10:00 local time today, Wednesday, July 29, Iraqi forces entered Camp Ashraf from the northern wing in six vehicles equipped with BKC machine guns. They opened fire on the defenceless refugees killing and injuring a number of people. Hossein Mahmoudi and Hanif Emami, two leaders of People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK), were killed on the spot after being shot by live ammunition fired from the BKC machine guns. Struan Stevenson, Scottish Tory MEP and President of the Friends of a Free Iran Intergroup in the European Parliament heard first hand of the attack.
The pre-emptive attack on the refugee camp by 2,000 heavily armed Iraqi police and military personnel has so far left 7 dead, over 400 wounded, and 31 abducted. 13 of those wounded are in a critical condition. Doctors are banned from entering the camp to treat the wounded.
The attack against Ashraf began at 15:00 local time on Tuesday 28th July. Police fired live ammunition and used tear gas, pepper sprays, batons, iron bars, clubs, boiling water sprayed at high pressure and stun grenades. Iraqi military loaders and armoured vehicles demolished gates, fences, and walls of the refugee camp while foot soldiers swarmed into the camp from various entry points.
Struan Stevenson commented:
“The violent attack by Iraqi forces launched yesterday and still on-going against the defenceless and unarmed refugees of Camp Ashraf, in the northern Iraqi province of Diyala, is a war crime and a humanitarian catastrophe.
“The majority of refugees in Ashraf are women and belong to the PMOI/MEK. They fled to Iraq after the execution of 120,000 PMOI/MEK supporters in Iran by the Mullahs.”
On 24th April this year the European Parliament in Strasbourg passed an urgent resolution demanding protection for the 3500 Ashraf refugees. This followed a prolonged siege of the camp by Iraqi forces, which disrupted food, fuel and water supplies and prevented doctors from providing medical assistance to seriously ill residents of the camp.
Yesterday, the President–elect of the National Council for Resistance in Iran (NCRI), Mrs Maryam Rajavi, said in Italy that the Iranian Resistance would hold the Iraqi government and its Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, personally responsible for the attack and the deaths and injuries which have resulted. She demanded that those responsible should be arraigned before a war crimes tribunal.
