Stop Fundamentalism – An Iranian dissident television station, Simay-e Azadi reported today that a number of rockets have hit the southern part of Camp Ashraf in Iraq. The TV station that stopped its normal television programming to report on the development did not mention any casualties among residents.
The rockets landed close to residential compound, reported the TV station.
Camp Ashraf was the target of raid last April in which 36 unarmed residents were killed. Since then the Iraqi government of Nouri al-Maliki has pressed the resident to leave the camp. The residents have filed for asylum with the United Nations Refugee agency UNHCR.
A recent development is with efforts by UN and camp residents for a relocation of residents to a site near Baghdad Airport.
The residents of Camp Ashraf makeup the bulk of Iran’s main opposition group in exile, the Mojahedin-e Khalq. The group disarmed after the fall of Iraq’s former regime and went under US protection as protected persons under Fourth Geneva Conventions. The US transferred their protection to government of Iraq in 2009. Since then the camp has been twice attacked by Iraqi forces.
The residents say the attacks have been at the behest of the Iranian regime at an attempt to rid itself of its principal opposition.
The Attack took place at 8 pm local time. Camp is location about 80 Kilometers north of Baghdad.
On Sunday, United Nations said it has signed an agreement with the Iraqi government to move the residents at the camp to a new temporary location where their applications for asylum in third countries will be processed by UNHCR, reported Associated Press.
