The Mojahedin-e Khalq said 34 of its members died in the fighting, while the Iraqi government said only three had died.
Deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq confirmed Thursday the Mojahedin’s count of 34 people in the April 7-8 incident. UN observers visited Camp Ashraf last Wednesday, and “are aware of 34 bodies at Camp Ashraf and nearby,” said Haq. UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said a majority of the victims were shot; Iraq said it believed the Mojahedin had killed some of its own members trying to flee the camp.
The bodies of the deceased are currently being held in a camp clinic, said Mojahedin-e Khalq spokesman Shahriar Kia, as Iraqi officials continue to refuse to allow their burial in the cemetery at Camp Ashraf.
“The cemetery is under the control of the Iraqi army, so if the Mojahedin come to bury their dead, there will be disputes,” said an official at the Iraqi Baquba Operations Command in Diyala province where Camp Ashraf is located. “We have already asked them to bury the corpses outside the cemetery, but inside Camp Ashraf.” Kia says the only place they want to bury the dead is in the designated camp cemetery.
Although admitting to their role in the burial hold-up, the Iraqi military continues to deny a role in the killings and plans to conduct its own investigation. “Our security forces believe that the dead were killed by their own [Mojahedin] guards because they were trying to escape,” said Iraqi government spokesman Ali ad-Dabbagh. “They have already committed similar acts in the past.”
UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has called for an independent inquiry into the incident.
Putting more blame on Iraqi shoulders, two hospital workers, a doctor and an ambulance driver, speaking with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said that at least 17 patients were forcibly removed from a hospital and taken back to Camp Ashraf by Iraqi security forces late last Tuesday. The doctor said some were in critical condition. Mojahedin spokesman Kia said the move was a ploy by the Iraqi government to bring about their deaths since the camp does not have adequate medical facilities for the patients.
Kia asked for American forces, which are currently treating seven other injured residents, to help even more patients. The US military will not discuss details, but has offered medical aid.
On Thursday, more than 100 European lawmakers called on the European Union to demand “the immediate withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Camp Ashraf.” The statement, signed by about one-seventh of 736 members of the parliament, added that, “The United Nations must permanently monitor the situation in the camp to prevent violations of the rights of residents.” The parliamentarians also urged the US to protect the Camp Ashraf residents.
The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) says it has been unable to help residents of the camp find new homes outside Iraq because no individual has agreed to sign a statement renouncing violence.
