NCRI – Upon orders of Nouri al- Maliki, on the eve of his trip to Tehran, as a down-payment to the clerical regime ruling Iran, Iraqi forces attacked Ashraf residents by firing bullets, and using sticks and truncheons. As a result, 10 Ashraf residents were wounded.
Maliki, who faces widespread domestic, regional and international opposition to maintain unlawfully his post as the Prime Minister, is trying to kowtow to the demands of the clerical regime more than ever.
This attack took place when in an open aggressive move the Iraqi forces set up a new watch tower in the northern flank of Ashraf. A number of residents who were in the vicinity of the site of the new post, peacefully protested to this illegal act and sought explanation.
In response, the Iraqi forces who were under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Latif Abdul-Amir Hashim al-Anabi, Captain Ahmad Hassan Khodheir, and Lieutenant Heidar Azab Mashi attacked the residents by firing bullets and using sticks that they had prepared in advance for this purpose. Firing bullets was done by the unit under the command of Heidar Azab. He is an agent of the Iranian regime who have attacked and assaulted Ashraf residents on number of occasions in the past.
These forces also attacked the residents’ vehicles and broke their windows and inflicted heavy damages to them.
Latif Abdul-Amir has blatantly stated that he received all his orders for suppressive measures from the committee within the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office tasked with suppression of Ashraf residents and an agent by the name of Sadeq from the same office.
On October 13, in response to protests by officials of the United Nations and the American forces, “A responsible source within the [Iraqi] security forces involved in protection of Camp Ashraf… declared that his forces have no plan to attack the camp.” (Alsowt al-Iraq radio)
Today’s criminal act and firing at the residents of Ashraf, beating and injuring 10 of them, clearly show that the Iraqi forces are not competent enough to offer protection to Ashraf and they themselves are considered as the killers of its residents. This makes the need to deploy the American forces and the permanent monitoring team of UNAMI inside Ashraf more compelling than ever.
The Iranian Resistance warns against any delay in implementation of these essential measures and underlines the responsibility of the US forces to provide protection to Ashraf residents within the framework of international treaties and the US forces’ obligations under their agreement with every resident of Ashraf.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
October 17, 2010