Camp Ashraf Camp Ashraf or Ashraf City was a refugee camp in Iraq ' s Diyala province and headquarters of the exiled People ' s Mujahedin of Iran ( PMOI / MEK ) . The population used to be around 3 , 400 in 2012 but nearly all have been more or less forcibly relocated under pressure by the premier minister Nouri al - Maliki ' s office of the Government of Iraq to Camp Liberty near BIAP ( Baghdad International Airport ) . Camp Ashraf ( aka US Forward Operating Base Grizzly ) is situated 27 . 6 km northeast of the Iraq the town of Khalis , about 80 kilometers west of the Iran border and 40 kilometers north of Baghdad . On January 1 , 2009 , the US Government formally transferred control over to the Iraqi government . Over the past 10 years , Camp Ashraf has been attacked several times the last being on April 8 , 2011 when Iraqi security forces stormed the camp and killed as many as 36 and wounding 320 residents and also on 17 October 2010 on the eve of al - Maliki ' s visit to Tehran . The Iraqi government planned to close the camp at the end of December 2011 . History . Ashraf Rajavi . The city of Ashraf was named in commemoration of Ashraf Rajavi , a famous political prisoner at the time of the Shah and who was slain by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps after the Iranian Revolution . Under Saddam Hussein . The PMOI established base at Ashraf in 1986 . Along with at least six other sites in Iraq , Camp Ashraf was given to the MEK as a headquarters and training site by Saddam Hussein . From this base , the MEK was equipped with tanks , artillery and armored personnel carriers that were taken from Iranian troops during major operations by the group beyond Iran - Iraq border . Ashraf during occupation of Iraq . During the 2003 invasion of Iraq , coalition forces launched air attacks against MEK forces . Mujaheddin commanders negotiated a ceasefire on April 22 , 2003 in which they were initially allowed to keep their military equipment . In June 2003 , US forces took control of Camp Ashraf and the MEK was consolidated , all their weapons were secured by special forces and their munitions and caches were maintained in a bunker complex located northeast of the city of Ashraf . Within months , the US sent in US military police battalions , to secure the bunkers and residents . Within a year , as a result of defecting Ashraf residents , two TIFs ( Temporary Internment Facilities ) were added increasing the military battalions mission and troop to task requirements . The primary TIF housed approximately 500 PMOI defectors who were under US control and frequently screened for additional intel by various government agencies . Along with the defectors , the compound was home to approximately 22 military police officers and a team of 6 communication specialists from a different unit to establish secure and encrypted modes of communication . The remainder of the military police and other supporting personnel were on the main compound 2 km away . A lack of infrastructure on the compound made housing so many defectors difficult . There were hostilities between those who defected and the remaining PMOI members who totalled approximately 5 , 000 and lived a few kilometers away . Threats of attacks by the remaining members constantly put US Servicemembers on alert as they were outnumbered almost 20 - 1 in 2004 . Military presence . Within the boundaries of the camp is Forward Operating Base Grizzly ( formerly FOB Spartan , FOB Red Lion , FOB Barbarian ) . The Forward operating base is where up to 2 , 000 US and Coalition forces , used to reside . Under pressures from Tehran , food and fuel rations of Ashraf were terminated ; elements affiliated with the regime blew up the water pipelines to Ashraf ; and members of the MEK were abducted in Iraq . It is also known that a bus carrying Iraqi laborers to the city of Ashraf was blown up , killing 11 . As of Summer of 2010 , US Forces no longer maintained a presence at FOB Grizzly after handing over the facility to the Government of Iraq , effectively ending direct US monitoring of Camp Ashraf . Instead , Iraqi police has been stationed inside the camp , and the Iraqi army maintains its presence in the bunker complex outside the camp . Transition to Iraqi control . On January 1 , 2009 the U . S . officially transferred control of Camp Ashraf to the Iraqi government . According to a press release from U . S . Embassy in Baghdad , the U . S . would maintain a military presence at the camp and the Iraqi government would ensure that all residents were treated according to Iraqi law . A State Department spokesman said the Government of Iraq had promised both humane treatment of people at Camp Ashraf and that none would be relocated to a country where they would have " a well - founded fear of persecution " . Ashraf attacked by Iraqi Forces . In late July 2009 conflict erupted when Iraqi forces attempted to enter the camp to establish a police station without the consent of the MEK . Accounts of the conflict differed . Iraqi forces used violence , including gunfire , water cannons and batons , killing eleven people and injuring about 400 ; two others were killed later on due to injuries . Videos taken by Ashraf residents show these scenes . Iraqi authorities denied using violent methods , but said unarmed residents used stones , knives and sharp tools to protect themselves and to fight security forces that tried to enter the camp . Journalists were excluded from the area . Video has surfaced purportedly showing Iraqi forces trying to repeatedly run down residents with vehicles . Amnesty International in its Iraq Report 2010 regarding human rights situation in Iraq wrote , " Following months of rising tension , Iraqi security forces forcibly entered and took control of Camp Ashraf ( . . ) on 28 and 29 July . The camp , which houses some 3400 members or supporters of the People ’ s Mojahedeen Organization of Iran ( PMOI ) , an Iranian opposition group had been under US military control since 2003 ( . . ) . Video footage showed Iraqi security forces deliberately driving military vehicles into crowds of protesting camp residents . The security forces also used live ammunition , apparently killing at least nine camp residents , and detained 36 others who they tortured . " In its report of 27 April 2010 , various aspects of violation of human rights in Iraq entitled as “ Iraq , Civilians under Fire ” , Amnesty International revealed and condemned violation of Ashraf residents ’ rights by Iraqi government on July 28 and 29 , 2009 . In September 2009 , in accordance with their mandate , the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq ( UNAMI ) , led by Ad Melkert , Special Representative of the UN Secretary - General , started attempts for mediation between the residents and premier minister Al - Maliki ' s office ; additionally , as reported by UNAMI issue leader Tahar Boumedra , Chief of the Human Rights Office , it ensured regular visits to the camp for monitoring human rights and as a deterrent against violence . In October 2009 , in the frame of UNAMI ' s mediation , the Government of Iraq announced their will to close Camp Ashraf , while the residents responded that neither remaining in Iraq nor returning to Iran were safe options for them ; they said to be prepared to move to safe third countries as soon as this become possible and asked for the necessary time for exploring this perspective . On December 10 , 2009 the Iraqi government announced plans to move the MEK from Camp Ashraf to a former detention center , Neqrat al - Salman , about 200 miles ( 120 kilometers ) west of Basra . In response , the MEK refused to comply with the decision . On December 15 , 2009 , Iraqi government sent a group of its security forces into the camp to urge the residents of the camp to leave the camp . They used loudspeakers and distributed pamphlets calling the residents to join them and leave Ashraf . However , no resident accepted to leave there . Media reporters were present on the scene . The UN issued a statement " exiled camp residents must not be deported " . UNAMI , led by the UN envoy Ad Melkert disputed Nouri al - Maliki ' s claim , saying that UN would not embrace the government ' s efforts to deport Ashraf residents by the end of 2011 ; instead , as brought forward by the UNAMI issue leader Tahar Boumedra , all parties should be engaged : the Iraqi government for building civilian camp management capacities in line with international humanitarian standards , the PMOI for achieving a more realistic understanding of their reality , and the international diplomatic community . The failure to relocate the camp residents prompted the " Ashrafi Committee " , an ad - hoc group of Premier Minister al - Maliki ' s office , to tighten the embargo on Camp Ashraf ; from January 2010 on , despite the attempts of UNAMI for the protection of human rights , fuel deliveries , water and food supply were severely reduced , resident ' s vehicles were seized , and , finally , medical assistance and resident ' s access to hospital treatment and surgery were denied . In Spring 2010 , the Iraqi Premier Minister ' s Office in cooperation with the Iranian embassy in Iraq arranged so - called " family visits " of some Iranian government - operated NGO ' s to destabilize Camp Ashraf . Assisted by the Iraqi army , they set up camp at the gate and fixed loudspeakers around the camp ; over two years , there were around 300 units " blaring threats and insults day and night at the residents " . On January 7 , 2011 , assailants bussed from Basra , Amara , Nasiriya and Baghdad to the gates of the Camp , in an action jointly coordinated by the " Ashraf Commitee " of al - Maliki ' s office with the Iranian embassy in Baghdad , and backed up by Iraqi security forces , attacked the camp resulting in 176 wounded . Iraqi forces prevented the wounded , 93 of whom were women , to go to the hospital for treatment . On April 8 , 2011 , Iraqi security forces in bulldozers and Humvees stormed Camp Ashraf in an action enthusiastically hailed by the Iranian governement . The Iraqi government , however , stated it believed that the event was a " riot " . According to Amnesty International , video clips of the April 8 clashes " appear to show Iraqi soldiers indiscriminately firing into the crowds and using vehicles to try and run others down " . As a conclusion , it was confirmed by a UN human rights official , 34 residents were killed and 318 wounded by Iraqi forces . During Summer 2011 , the Iranian authorities took new suppressive measures for espionage against Ashraf residents by installing two tall communication poles south of Camp Ashraf , preparing the grounds for next attacks . The Iraqi government said that the PMOI must leave the country by the end of 2011 . The Central Investigation Court No 4 of the Spanish National Court , in face of impossibility of any investigation into the massacres in Ashraf inside Iraq by a government that itself has ordered these massacres , has taken on this case . In its last writ dated July 11 , 2011 , the court summoned senior Iraqi officers to appear before the court on October 3 , 2011 for war crimes . The Iraqi prime minister Nouri al - Maliki is also to appear before the court once he leaves his post as premier that gives him immunity from judicial prosecution . On Sept . 28 , 2011 the EU foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton has appointed Ambassador De Ruyt , as an advisor to mull over the fate of thousands of outlawed Ashraf residents facing expulsion from the camp in Iraq , their home for 30 years . In the mean time , Maryam Rajavi , called for the new nominee to visit Ashraf and to demand Iraq drop its bid to close the camp by the end of 2011 . 2013 Clashes . On Sept . 1 , 2013 , 52 members of MKO were killed at Camp Ashraf , in what the group claimed was a massacre by Iraqi forces . In a statement , U . N . Secretary General Ban Ki - moon deplored " the tragic events at Camp Ashraf " and said Baghdad should " promptly investigate the incident and disclose the findings . " Ali al - Moussawi , a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al - Maliki , later confirmed that several MKO members had been killed , but denied any involvement of the Iraqi authorities and stated the deaths were caused by infighting among the camp ' s residents . Officials stated that after the incident , MKO members attacked the local army brigade stationed in the camp and killed 4 Iraqi soldiers . In September and October 2013 letters and messages to President Obama , Senators John McCain , Carl Levin , and others , called for US pressure on President al - Maliki to " hold Iraq accountable for the massacre at Camp Ashraf and to save seven abducted residents " . On September 11 , 2013 , Amnesty International launched an urgent action to the Iraqi Government calling for the the protection and relief of the seven abducted hostages . Later developments . In 2012 MEK moved from Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriya in Baghdad ( a onetime U . S . base formerly known as Camp Liberty ) . A rocket and mortar attack leaving at least five dead and 40 wounded occurred at Camp Hurriya on February 9 , 2013 . Iranian residents of Camp Hurriya and their representatives and lawyers appealed to the UN Secretary - General and U . S . officials to let them return to Ashraf , which they say has concrete buildings and shelters that offer more protection . The United States has been working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on the resettlement project . Status of residents . Camp Ashraf is the base in Iraq of the Iranian opposition group People ' s Mojahedin Organization of Iran ( PMOI / MEK ) . After 2003 , the coalition forces designated the MEK at Camp Ashraf as protected persons under the Geneva Convention . The UK government no longer holds the view that residents of Camp Ashraf are " protected people , " according to a written reply to a question from an MP by Ivan Lewis , Minister of state at the Foreign Office on November 25 , 2009 In his quarterly report to the Security Council of 14 May 2010 pursuant to resolution 1883 , UN Secretary General Ban Ki - moon stressed the rights of residents of Camp Ashraf , Iraq , to protection against arbitrary displacement in Iraq or forced extradition to Iran . In order to better the humanitarian situation in the camp , EUHR Catherine Ashton appointed Jean De Ruyt , a senior Belgian diplomat , to advise on the EU ' s response to Camp Ashraf Brian Binley , a Member of Parliament from the United Kingdom ’ s Conservative Party , in a big gathering asked for protection of Ashraf .