Baghdad, April 12: The European Union has voiced concern over clashes between Iraqi forces and residents of Camp Ashraf belonging to the terrorist group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO).
“The EU deplores the loss of life. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq has been monitoring the situation there closely, and alongside the UN, the EU has continuously and repeatedly called on the Iraqi government to refrain from the use of violence and to respect the human rights of the camp’s residents,” European High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton said in a statement released on Saturday.
She added, “The EU calls upon the Iraqi government to grant access to Camp Ashraf to independent international observers so that they can provide a comprehensive picture of the situation.”
“The situation in Camp Ashraf poses complex challenges with no easy answers. The EU agrees that Iraq’s sovereignty should be respected over all the Iraqi territory including in Camp Ashraf, but force is not the answer. It is the government’s responsibility to respect the human rights of its residents. The EU also calls on all the parties to show restraint and find a peaceful and sustainable solution to the situation,” the statement also pointed out.
On Monday, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the cabinet is determined to shut down Camp Ashraf, located north of the capital Baghdad, and disband the terrorist MKO group.
According to AFP, 10 people were reportedly killed in clashes between Iraqi security forces and MKO terrorists at Camp Ashraf last Friday.
The MKO has carried out numerous acts of terror and violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.
The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up Camp Ashraf in Diyala province, near the Iranian border.
The organization is also known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and the massacre of Iraqi Kurds.
Iran has repeatedly called on the Iraqi government to expel the group, but the US has been blocking the expulsion by pressuring the Iraqi government.
Ashton’s remarks come as the European Union has refused to condemn atrocities being carried out by suppressive Bahraini and Yemeni regimes against peaceful anti-government protesters.
Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and many others gone missing since the beginning of the revolution during government-sanctioned crackdown.
Yemeni local sources say the death toll has surpassed 300 since anti-government protests began in late January.
——–Agencies