WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Human rights lawyers on Monday urged the Pentagon to take control of an Iranian exile camp in eastern Iraq, accusing Iraqi security forces there of crimes and human rights violations against camp residents.
Residents of Camp Ashraf near the Iranian border say the Iraqi government killed 13 people and injured about 450 others when security forces moved into the facility on July 28, an incident that raises concerns about the dwindling U.S. influence in Iraq.
Camp Ashraf, home to the People’s Mujahideen Organization of Iran (PMOI) dissident group, had been protected by the U.S. military until the facility and its 3,500 residents were transferred to Iraqi jurisdiction last January.
