The Canadian Friends of a Democratic Iran have urged US Secretary of State John Kerry to act immediately to prevent another massacre in the wake of the slaughter at Ashraf on September 1.
The group’s co-Chairman David Kilgour wrote: “We are writing to express our urgent concern over the security of the remaining residents in Camp Ashraf and urge for your immediate intervention to prevent another massacre there.
“These measures must be taken promptly and without the constant presence of the US and UN monitoring teams, the lives of those who remain in Ashraf are at great risk.”
The Iranian Resistance warned on September 3 that forces were re-grouping to place Ashraf under a full siege before another attack, Mr Kilgour said.
He added: “This statement revealed how forces of the Iraqi battalion responsible for protecting the residents were prepared to move in and attack the remaining residents with weapons, clubs, and rods.
“They besieged all entrances and exits by Humvee armored personnel carriers and armed people. The residents told the assailants that any entry should be made with the presence of the UN and the US Embassy and thus returned them to the entrance of the residential quarter that Iraqi forces broken through.
“The press release also states that the electricity of the Ashraf residential quarters was totally cut off and the passage for residents to the kitchen at the south of the residential area had also been blocked.
“This is an extremely alarming situation. I draw your attention to the fact that such warnings had been repeatedly given to the US Embassy in Baghdad in recent weeks prior to the cold-blooded attack on September 1.
“The US was obliged to take them seriously and must have deployed its personnel to the camp in order to ensure the security of 100 defenseless residents whose lives were predictably at serious risk.
“If the US had done so, the 52 innocent refugees would still be alive. The Iranian community and families of those massacred in this raid are extremely shocked by the inaction on the side of the United States, knowing that the US has concrete responsibility towards the safety and security of the Camp Ashraf residents.”
Mr Kilgour added: “I vehemently urge you to ensure that the US Embassy personnel are immediately sent to Ashraf to closely monitor the situation and block the pending attack with their presence.
“If any further bloodshed occurs in Ashraf, the United States will be held accountable for not taking immediate preventive action while the risk had been clearly predicted and stated in the UNAMI press release of September 3.”