While all Iraqis are seeking cover from the scorching summer heat that has driven temperatures up to 50°C and added to the already difficult 16-hour fasting period during the holy month of Ramadan, Iraqi forces at Baghdad International Airport have received orders from Iraqi National Security Advisor Falih Fayyad to step up the pressure on Iranian dissidents in Camp Liberty.
Fayyad, a known element loyal to the Iranian regime in the Iraqi government, has ordered no vehicles to be allowed into the camp, including fuel, food and sewage trucks.
Camp Liberty was a former US military base ransacked by Iraqi forces prior to February 2012 when these Iranian dissidents were transferred from their former home in Camp Ashraf to this base. Having no decent infrastructure the camp relies on daily deliveries of diesel fuel for the very worn-out power generators, food and sewage trucks to empty the numerous blackwater tanks scattered around the camp. Any disruption in the delivery of such services on a daily basis will lead to a catastrophe as all water distribution, cooling systems, food storages, the bakery, kitchen and … rely on the electricity provided by the power generators. With fuel not being delivered to the camp for three days now, the power generators’ reserve tanks will be depleted and this has already placed the residents facing very harsh conditions.
It is crystal clear that Fayyad and others loyal to Tehran are attempting to wreak havoc in Camp Liberty prior to the the Eid al-Fitr holiday season marking the end of Ramadan. All this is intended to please the Iranian regime.
Camp Liberty is currently on the verge of a crisis and humanitarian catastrophe while residents are fasting and marking Ramadan. To make things worse, preventing the entry of sewage tankers into the camp in such extremely hot conditions leads to a major hygiene problem for the camp population.
These criminal and inhumane measures against the residents constitute a crime against humanity and its perpetrators can face international accountability.
In letters to U.S. and U.N. officials on June 26, the Iranian Resistance had warned that the Iranian regime and its embassy in Baghdad have asked the Iraqi government, and particularly Fayyad, to escalate their crackdown and siege on the Iranian dissidents in Camp Liberty. It is worth noting that these residents are recognized by the US as ‘protected persons’ under the Geneva Convention and ‘persons of concern’ by the UNHCR.
The Paris-based Iranian Resistance has called on the United Nations and the U.S. government that have repeatedly and in writing committed themselves to the wellbeing and security of Camp Liberty residents, as well as the European Union and its Member States, to take immediate action to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Camp Liberty.
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