Camp Liberty residents’ collective letter to UN Secretary-General, U.S. Secretary of State and the High Commissioner for Refugees

Call for an independent probe by United Nations, release of 7 hostages, and providing minimum security provisions to Camp Liberty

Following the fourth rocket attack on Camp Liberty on Thursday, December 26, all Camp Liberty residents wrote in their collective letter to UN Secretary-General, the U.S. Secretary of State, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees that this attack took place right after Nouri Maliki’s visit to Iran and for the purpose of gaining support from the Iranian regime for his third term as Prime Minister.

During this criminal attack, in addition to eight 280 mm rockets, sixty 107 mm rockets were fired at Camp Liberty. Altogether, 38 impact points were observed and registered by UN officials with three related to the 280 mm rockets that have a destructive power nearly 20 times than the 107 mm rockets.

In their letter, residents wrote: “this attack… killing three residents and injuring and wounding 71 others… in an area, where is highly controlled by the Iraqi government with a very high military and security presence, clearly shows that it was impossible without prior senior level coordination with the government.” They added: “The abovementioned attack takes place at a time when an independent probe has not been conducted into the 1 September massacre and the Iraqi government continues to refuse to release the seven residents abducted from Camp Ashraf.”

In Liberty residents’ letter it is stated: “unfortunately the UN has never held the Iraqi government responsible for the repeated massacres in camps Ashraf and Liberty during the past years, despite all the existing evidence and document. With the UN especially turning its back on the Iraqi government’s role in the 1 September 2013 massacre in Camp Ashraf, this government sees a green light to continue its crimes against the residents.”

In their letter, residents called on United Nations and United States to:

First: Make the necessary preparations for an independent investigation by the UN into the 1 September massacre in Ashraf and the 26 December rocket attack against Liberty.

Second: Strongly call on the Iraqi government to release the 7 hostages abducted from Ashraf as reported by UN Rapporteurs.

Third: Obligate the Iraqi government to not block the procurement of necessary security needs in Liberty.

Residents further stressed that some of these provisions are: “Returning 17,500 T-walls; transferring enough concrete bunkers into the camp; transferring the residents’ protective helmets and vests, and medical equipment and supplies from Ashraf to Liberty; permitting construction in Liberty aimed at erecting buildings that will at least be invulnerable against shrapnel, especially for the ill residents; constructing and installing dual layer roofs for the trailers in Liberty with supplies purchased at our own expense; and increasing the camp’s surface area in order to decrease the population density and lessen the vulnerability ratio. The casualties in Liberty would have been much lower if these minimums, which have been shared with the UN and US and Iraqi government officials hundreds of times ever since the first rocket attack back in February 2013, had been provided for.”

Iraq: 45 lawmakers condemn deadly attack on Iranian dissidents camp

NCRI - Forty-five Iraqi lawmakers have condemned the deadly rocket attack on December 26 against Camp Liberty that resulted in killing three and injuring 71 Iranian dissidents in Iraq.
The lawmakers said: "The Iraqi government has proven that it has neither the will nor the ability to protect these refugees."
In a letter to the United Nations Secretary General , the 45 Iraqi parliamentarians said that the continued killing defenseless Iranian refugees who are considered protected person based on 4th Geneva Convention is clearly a crime against humanity.
"The inaction of the international community in dealing with this situation is absolutely unacceptable," the parliamentarians said according to the report by an Arabic language news website.
"Four months after the terrible massacre of September 1, at Camp Ashraf , which killed 52 people and seven of the refugees were taken hostage, the Iraqi government has proven that it has neither the will nor the ability to protect these refugees," the letter added.
The Iraqi parliamentarians emphasized: "The claim of the attack by a militia openly affiliated with the Iraqi and Iranian governments aims at diverting the attention from the real responsibility of perpetrators."
"This proves more than ever that Camp Liberty must be recognized as soon as possible by UNHCR as a refugee camp under the responsibility of the United Nations."

Spanish Senators condemn terrorist attack against Iranian Opposition refugees in Iraq

Joint statement by Members of Spanish Senate

At 21:15 Baghdad local time, on Thursday, 26 December, Camp Liberty , in which 2900 refugees, members of the main Democratic Iranian opposition group PMOI -MEK live, was attacked with dozens of missiles, leaving 3 dead and 71 injured.

This is the fourth attack Camp Liberty suffers this year. The U.S. government, that transferred the protection of residents to Iraqi forces in late 2008, said it had received written assurances from the Iraqi authorities that residents would be protected.

However, since then , there have been numerous attacks carried out against them. The balance of these attacks , many of them made directly by Iraqi forces , has been more than 100 dead and a thousand injured.

This does not include the residents who have died due to inhumane medical restrictions imposed by the Iraqi government in the same period.

Moreover, on September 1, Camp Ashraf, where also some members of the Iranian opposition resided, was attacked by Iraqi forces. They killed in cold blood 52 people and took seven residents hostage icluding six women. Since then, they the prisoners whereabouts are unknown.

Furthermore, on December 17, the High Court agreed to hear a complaint against Iraqi National Security Advisor, for his involvement in "crimes against the international community" in reference to the murders of these Iranian refugees in Iraq.

Therefore, we express our strong condemnation of the events of December 26 at Camp Liberty, as we have done with other attacks on the residents of this area and of Camp Ashraf, and we reiterate our call for the immediate release of the Camp Ashraf hostages.

Many of Liberty’s trailers, facilities and utilities and the residents’ belongings have been destroyed or damaged_New Photos

The necessity to replace the destroyed items with those available at Ashraf

 

statement pf Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran:

During the fourth missile attack against Liberty, much of the camp’s facilities and utilities and the residents’ property and belongings have been destroyed or severely damaged. The inflicted damages, in comparison with the 9 February and 15 June, attacks were much greater. The reason was the use of extra propellant in the 107mm rockets and also the use of 280mm surface to surface missiles that have a destruction power 20 times greater than the 107mm rockets. The inflicted damage currently recorded is as follows:

1. Eleven trailers belonging to the residents’ dwelling areas have been completely destroyed.

2. Eighty trailers have been struck by shrapnel and have been severely damaged and are in need of repair.

3. Seven WC trailers have completely gone out of order.

4. A large cafeteria was struck by a 280mm missile and as a result burnt down and completely went out of order.

5. Eleven refrigerator containers have been seriously damaged.

6. A large ice-making machine has been seriously damaged.

7. A pickup truck and a water tanker, which was used in emergency situations to put out fire, have been seriously damaged and are in need of substantial repair.

8. A number of water and black-water tanks, pipelines, power generators and gasoline tanks have been damaged by shrapnel.

9. Twenty personal computers, various monitors, printers, computer accessories, tables and chairs and stationary appliances have been destroyed.

10. Many TVs, including 11 large-screen TVs, 24 AC units and other electrical equipment and appliances have been completely destroyed.

11. Home appliances such as various refrigerators, electric heaters, warmers, industrial mixers, laundry machines and … have been destroyed and need to be replaced.

12. The residence belongings such as beds, cushions, blankets, clothing, clocks, stereo systems, radios, book and … have also been destroyed.

While Liberty, prior to the recent missile attack, lacked humanitarian standards, this attack has severely degraded the camp’s humanitarian conditions. To this end, the Iranian Resistance urges the UN and US Government to take immediate action to replace the damaged and destroyed items with those available at Ashraf.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

December 29, 2013

Maliki's crime in camp Liberty result of Obama's Silence

4th rocket attack on Iranian dissidents in Iraq, 3 killed

 

Victims of Dec 26, rocket attack on Camp Liberty

 

The fourth rocket attack on Camp Liberty in Baghdad suburb at 2115 on Thursday Dec. 26, 2013 local time destroyed a dozen of trailers and the infrastructure in Camp Liberty. So far three residents have been confirmed dead. They have been identified as Mohammad Javad Saleh Tehrani, Mahmoud Bornafar and Abbas Namvar. Mahmoud has been disfigured to the extent that identifying him at the beginning was difficult. A number of others have been injured, some in critical condition. 
Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki and the Iranian regime Supreme Leader Khamenei are trying to overshadow the previous heinous massacre in Camp Ashraf where 52 innocent unprotected residents were killed execution style by creating a new crisis.
This attack happens following the trip by the Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki to Tehran and is a gift from Maliki to the fascist theocratic regime ruling Iran to insure their support in his bid to run for the third time as Prime Minister.

UNHCR condemnation of terrorist attack against Iranian dissidents in Iraq

Press Releases, 27 December 2013 by UNHCR
The UN refugee agency strongly condemns last night's attack on the Baghdad International Airport Zone, during which a number of rockets landed on Camp Hurriya – reportedly killing three and injuring many more in the camp. At least four camp residents who sustained serious injuries were reportedly rushed to hospitals in Baghdad by the Iraqi authorities.
Camp Hurriya has already been hit on multiple occasions. Camp New Iraq (formerly Ashraf), where residents were previously staying, was also target of an attack in the past. UNHCR has consistently deplored such unacceptable attacks.
UNHCR remains deeply concerned for the safety of the residents of Camp Hurriya and is calling on the government of Iraq to urgently scale up security measures in the camp to ensure the safety and security of its residents. We are also urging the government to launch a full scale independent investigation into all the incidents.
UNHCR urgently reiterates the need to find solutions for the camp's residents, and is appealing to countries to act urgently on 1,400 cases from Camp Hurriya that have already been submitted for relocation. Since 2011, UNHCR, together with UNAMI, has been engaged in an effort to find relocation opportunities outside Iraq for some 3,200 residents of the Camp. So far, the international community has managed to secure the relocation to third countries of 311 residents, clearly demonstrating that more relocation places are urgently needed.
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Maliki’s notorious agent takes responsibility for terrorist attack on Iranian dissidents in Iraq

Maliki s agent responsible for terrorist attack against MEK in Iraq

December 27, 2013
Hours after the missile attack on Camp Liberty, which has left three residents killed and more than 50 others wounded so far, Watheq al-Battat, a notorious terrorist, who is merely a functionary of [Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri] al-Maliki, accepted responsibility for this assault.
Using the ridiculous title of “commander of the Al-Mukhtar Army”, this criminal mullah told Reuters news agency that “his group had fired 20 Katyusha rockets and mortar rounds at the camp'.
This is not the first time that Maliki is using Battat’s name to cover up his own crimes. On February 13, 2013, four days after the first missile attack on Camp Liberty, the Iranian Resistance issued a statement which said, “Because it is common knowledge that Kata’eb Hezbollah is a terrorist brainchild of the clerical regime acting in concert with Maliki’s office, the clerical regime and the Iraqi government in an attempt to cover their tracks resorted to a new ploy by fabricating a new self-styled group named ‘Jaish al-Mukhtar’ in a bid to cleanse their hands tainted in this crime…. ‘Jaish al-Mukhtar’ is another name for ‘Kata’eb Hezbollah’, which continues to carry out the dirty and bloody conspiracies of Ali Khamenei and Maliki.”
According to Iraqi media, Jaish al-Mukhtar declared its founding only five days before the first missile attack on Camp Liberty on February 9, 2013. It boasted, “The Mukhtar Army is supportive of the central government in fighting corruption and corruptors as well as in confronting terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Free Army.” Several hours later, the group staged a military parade at the Sana’a Club in Baghdad, where the Iraqi Amy and Police were giving it protection.
According to Arab-language media such as Al-Hayat, As-Sharq al-Awsat and Ilaf, Mukhtar is a symbolic reference to Maliki. On February 11, 2013, the Saudi Daily As-Sharq al-Awsat wrote, “The Mukhtar Army has been formed in support of the Iraqi government to establish security control. Groups affiliated to Maliki describe him as ‘Mukhtar of the Age.’”
On July 8, 2013, Iraq’s Al-Tagheer television broadcast a video in which Battat was saying, “We must save the Iraqi government and its institutions and abide by orders.” He emphasized, “His party is supporting the government with all its power because it has facilitated their passage to Syria.”

Attack to Camp Liberty Dec 26-21.15 Local time-Film

Attack to Camp Liberty Dec 26-21.15 Local time-Film

Reuters: Iranian dissidents say rockets hit their Baghdad camp, kill two

(Reuters) - A camp of Iranian dissidents in the Iraqi capital was hit by rockets on Thursday in an attack the group said killed at least two people and seriously wounded several others.
A Shi'ite militia claimed responsibility for the attack on the Mujahadin-e-Khalq (MEK) camp in western Baghdad, which has repeatedly been the target of mortar and rocket attacks in recent months.
The group, which calls for the overthrow of Iran's clerical leaders and fought on Iraq's side during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, is no longer welcome in Iraq under the Shi'ite-led government that came to power after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
A spokesman for the group said in a statement that two people had been killed when "Camp Liberty," located in a former U.S. military compound, was "attacked with dozens of missiles of different types".
Several of the wounded were in a critical condition, the statement added. It accused the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of being behind the attack in an attempt to win support from Iran's government ahead of elections next year.
Iraqi authorities have repeatedly denied involvement in attacks on the group.
In a rare claim of responsibility for attacks on the MEK, Wathiq al-Batat, commander of the al-Mukhtar Army militia, told Reuters his group had fired 20 Katyusha rockets and mortar rounds at the camp.
"We've asked (the government) to expel them from the country many times, but they are still here," he said, accusing the group of communicating with Sunni and Shi'ite politicians he claimed were linked to al Qaeda.
Al-Mukhtar Army is a relatively new Shi'ite militia, which has said it is supported and funded by Iran. Batat is a former leader of the more well-known Kata'ib Hezbollah militia.
Shahriar Kia, another spokesman for MEK who lives in the camp he said houses about 3,000 Iranian dissidents, said two men were killed when a rocket fell near their caravan.
"I saw two caravans set ablaze and black smoke billowing. We are still taking shelter inside the caravans out of fear of more shelling."
Police sources confirmed the camp had been targeted by mortars and said four wounded Iranians had been transported to a hospital in western Baghdad.
More than 50 people were killed at a separate MEK camp north of Baghdad in September. The attack drew condemnation from the United States and Britain.
(Reporting by Suadad al-Salhy, Ahmed Rasheed and Kareem Raheem; Writing by Alexander Dziadosz; editing by David Evans)

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