Camp Ashraf - Iraq Preparing New Assault on Iranian Opposition

Iraqi forces present at the Iranian refugee campground Ashraf, in Iraq show new suspicious activities, opening 10 passageways in fences surrounding the camp preparing for a possible new assault, said the Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in a statement today.

A number of Iraqi military Commanders are present at the camp since Wednesday, 1 June, to make these preparations, reports NCRI.

The passageways could facilitate Iraqi armored vehicles access to inside the camp into streets and residential areas where unarmed civilians, residents of Camp Ashraf live.

NCRI warns that the preparations may be for the Iranian regime agents and forces to stage the next deadly assault on Camp Ashraf. Since the acceptance of the European Parliament’s initiative- which calls for immediate protection of the camp and a lasting solution for resettlement to European countries - the Iranian regime, in opposition to the plan, has been mobilizing its intelligence ministry and Quds forces and its embassy in Baghdad to make sure the plan fails, says NCRI adding that the Iranian embassy in Baghdad has been assigned the task to coordinate with the Iraqi government for the purpose.
Camp Ashraf has already been the scene of multiple assaults by the Iraqi government forces, the last of which was in April. Thirty five residents including 8 women were killed and many were wounded. After the attack, the Iraqi government occupied about one third of the camp claiming it wants to return the land to its original owners. The land has had no owners except the residents of Camp Ashraf since World War Two.
The 8 April incident quickly drew international condemnation.

The initiative introduced by the European Parliament has been supported worldwide.

On the other hand, Iraqis and some circles in the United States press for a displacement of the residents to another location inside Iraq. This plan was categorically rejected by the residents and many across the world which see it as a pretext to another massacre in much larger scale.

A European Delegation visiting Iraq in late April was denied access to the camp by the Iraqi government. Hoshyar Zebari told the delegation that a visit to the camp is “out of the questions.”

The camp residents since the attack have been repeatedly warning that another attack could be in the making and calling on the United States, United Nations and European Union to step in to prevent another massacre.