Iran Opposition Leader Says Missile Attack on Camp Liberty was Act of Favor-Trading Between Iraqi Prime Minister and Iran Regime's Supreme Leader
PARIS, December 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi issued a statement condemning what she described as the "Christmas Massacre in Camp Liberty." The camp is home to some 3,000 members of the main Iranian opposition group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK/PMOI).
Rajavi heads the umbrella opposition organization, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
On Thursday, Camp Liberty was the target of a barrage of dozens of missiles, which killed three residents and left more than 50 wounded, some seriously. The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and the United Nations also condemned the attack.
In blaming the Iraqi government for the carnage, Rajavi said Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who had returned from Iran earlier this month, was making a down payment to the Iranian regime to secure its support for his third term as Prime Minister.
"[The attack] also reflected a desperate attempt by [the Iranian regime's Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei to confront the crisis of overthrow facing the vulnerable theocracy," she said, adding, "Khamenei is trying to salvage the regime through the massacre of the MEK/PMOI members, especially after giving in to the nuclear accord."
Rajavi expressed dismay over US and UN "disregard for their commitments concerning the security and safety of the residents of Ashraf and Liberty and their inaction vis-à-vis the September 1 execution-style massacre at Camp Ashraf" which in her words, had emboldened Maliki "to perpetrate such heinous crimes [at Camp Liberty]."
In urging the U.S., the EU, and the UN "to take serious practical steps to guarantee the security of the residents at Liberty," Rajavi stressed that "the only practical and definitive action that would prevent further attack on Liberty [would be] the residents' prompt transfer to a temporary location in the U.S., even on a temporary basis."
While underscoring the need for the launching of a comprehensive, independent international investigation into the September 1st massacre at Camp Ashraf, she called on the U.S., the EU and the UN "to obligate the Iraqi government to accept the minimum security requirements at Liberty, in particular the return of 17,500 T-walls and sufficient number of concrete bunkers, as well as the transfer of protective helmets, vests and the medical equipment from Ashraf."
So far 36 points of missile impact have been identified at Camp Liberty, which has a total area of 0.5km2. A number of the rockets were 280mm caliber surface-to-surface missiles, whose destructive power is 20 times greater than the 107mm rockets used in previous attacks on the Camp.
The Thursday attack was the fourth such missile assault on Camp Liberty this year. A total of 13 residents have been killed and more than 220 wounded in attacks in February, April, June and December this year.
SOURCE Iran News Update
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