Lawmakers fear Iranian dissidents face assault in Iraq
Washinton Times- Nearly three dozen U.S. lawmakers are urging U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to prevent a fresh outbreak of violence at a camp for former Iranian resistance fighters in Iraq.
In a letter made public Wednesday, they wrote that residents of Camp Ashraf have been subjected to “deadly incursions and repeated incidents of harassment” by Iraqi forces.
Late Monday night, Iraqi troops and police entered the camp with sirens blaring in what residents said was an attempt to intimidate them.
On April 8, the Iraqi army attacked the camp, killing 36 residents, including eight women. More than 300 others were wounded. The lawmakers warned of “another tragedy on a larger scale” without prompt U.N. action.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has set a Dec. 31 deadline to close Camp Ashraf. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has said that the Iraqi deadline does not leave enough time to process the refugee status requests of Camp Ashraf’s 3,400 residents, who fear they will be arrested and executed if they are deported to Iran.
The Obama administration has expressed its concern to the Iraqi government about the recent developments at Camp Ashraf.
