London, 13 Jul – Politicians from the United Kingdom have joined other leaders in condemning the horrific attacks on Camp Liberty last week, which injured over 50 people.
Iraq’s Camp Liberty houses residents of the Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK). It was targeted in a rocket attack by militias affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force.
Tobias Ellwood, the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa in the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said: “We strongly condemn the attack against the civilian residents of Camp Liberty in Iraq on 4 July. We have publically called on the Government of Iraq to investigate the attack and bring the attackers to justice. In the coming days, officials from our Embassy will raise the attack with the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and make clear the importance of an urgent and comprehensive investigation into the incident.”
This attack followed an eight-day blockade of essentials like food and medicine by the IRGC, which was overlooked by an Iraqi government supportive of the Iranian Regime.
Ellwood continued: “In all of our engagement with the Government of Iraq on this issue, including at Ministerial level and in our statements, we have emphasised the importance of the Iraqi Government doing everything possible to ensure the safety of the residents of Camp Liberty.”
Other important figures and organisations have criticised the attack and the Iraqi Government for failing to protect dissidents in their country who are protected under the Geneva convention.
Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran NCRI, praised the heroic determination of Camp Liberty residents and wished those wounded a swift recovery.
Amnesty International released a statement on July 6, which called for a “prompt, independent and effective investigation into this attack [and] for those responsible to be brought to justice and for measures to be put in place to prevent future attacks.”
The human rights charity said that it “regrets the failure to adequately investigate previous deadly attacks against the camp, which sent the message that camp residents can be attacked with impunity.”
United States Senator John McCain has also condemned this terrorist rocket attack and called on the U.S. State Department to safeguard the Camp Liberty residents’ right to “continued and reliable access to food, clean water, medical assistance, electricity, and other supplies necessary to sustain [then]”.
