Camp Liberty

Coordinates: 33°18′0.94″N 44°14′47.68″E / 33.3002611°N 44.2465778°E / 33.3002611; 44.2465778

Camp Liberty (Camp Victory) (Camp Hurriya)
Camp Al-Tahreer
Baghdad, Iraq
Camp Liberty in September 2009, during the Iraq War.
Coordinates	33°18′0.94″N 44°14′47.68″E / 33.3002611°N 44.2465778°E / 33.3002611; 44.2465778
Site information
Site history
Built	2003 (2003)
Battles/wars	Iraq War
Events	Camp Liberty killings, Camp Ashraf, 2013 Camp Ashraf massacre
Garrison information
Occupants	People's Mujahedin of Iran (current)  United States of America (former)

Camp Liberty is a former United States military installation in Baghdad, Iraq, now being used to house the members of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI, also called MEK) who previously resided in Camp Ashraf. Camp Liberty first came into existence during the 2003 invasion of Iraq as Camp Victory North, and was renamed (its Arabic translation is "Camp Al-Tahreer") in mid-September 2004 to its later name of Camp Liberty (in Arabic "Camp Hurriya").^[1] Other camps that make up the Victory Base Complex include Camp Victory (formerly known as Camp Victory South), Camp Striker, Seitz, and Camp Slayer. The renaming was part of an effort to give U.S. facilities around Baghdad friendlier connotations, and an attempt to resolve the issue of constantly changing facility names.

During the Iraq War, following the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, the base was a large coalition military installation located northeast of the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP), becoming part of the U.S. military's Victory Base Complex (VBC). Camp Liberty was twice the size of Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo, and one of the largest U.S. overseas posts built since the Vietnam War.^[1]

Camp Liberty currently is used as a refugee camp for members of the People's Mujahedin of Iran. PMOI is a group which has been exiled from its native Iran since the Iranian Revolution, which the government of its host country of Iraq still considers to be a terrorist organization despite the fact that the USA removed it from the list of terrorist organizations,^[2] and which an Iranian organization opposed to it accuses to have killed over 25,000 Iraqis on behalf of Saddam Hussein.^[3]

History

Camp Liberty killings

On 11 May 2009, an American soldier, U.S. Army Sergeant John M. Russell, opened fire on his fellow service members within the camp at a counseling clinic center, killing five before being subdued and taken into custody.

People's Mujahedin of Iran

Under strong pressure by the Iraqi government, whose declared will is to expel the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK) from Iraq, but who was aided as well by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) under the pretext to preserve their security, near all of the 3400 MEK residents of Camp Ashraf were more or less forcedly moved to Camp Liberty in 2012.^[4] This helped partly to convince the United States removing the MEK from its list of designated terrorist groups.^[2] 166 of the MEK members are wanted for committing acts of terrorism inside Iran and the Iranian government is seeking their extradition.^[5]

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the UN Human Rights Council has categorized, in his Opinion of August 2012, the status of the MEK residents in Camp Liberty/Camp Hurriya as Arbitrary detention and called the Iraqi government for the "immediate release and lifting of all restraints upon the free movements of these persons".^[6]

2013 rocket attacks

A rocket and mortar attack left at least eight dead and nearly 100 wounded occurred at Camp Hurriya on 9 February 2013. Iranian residents of Camp Liberty and their representatives and lawyers appealed to the UN Secretary-General and U.S. officials to let them return to Ashraf, which they say is 80 times larger than Liberty and has concrete buildings and shelters that offer more protection. They argue that this move is all the more imperative because according to the UN Refugee Agency and the US embassy in Baghdad, resettlement will take anywhere from three to 10 years. So, the residents would be at risk of further attacks and the move to Ashraf would not hinder their resettlement. The United States has been working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the resettlement project.^[7]

On 29 April 2013, 20 explosions hit Camp Liberty/Camp Hurriya. Its residents accuse the Iraqi government of failing to offer adequate protection or medical care.^[8]

A deadly rocket attack occurred on 26 December 2013, killing four Iranian dissidents and wounding about seventy.^[9] This was the last of a total of four rocket attacks to Camp Liberty in 2013.^[10] The destructive power of 26 December attack was particularly high, as in addition to previously used rockets, missiles hit the camp with had about 10 times explosive power.^[11] Iraqi authorities have repeatedly denied involvement in attacks on the group. However, in a rare claim of responsibility for attacks on the MEK, Wathiq al-Batat, commander of the al-Mukhtar Army militia, admitted his group had fired rockets at the camp. This army is a relatively new Shi'ite militia, which has said it is supported and funded by Iran. Batat is a former leader of the more well-known Kata'ib Hezbollah militia. ^[12] The UNHCR called on the government of Iraq to urgently scale up security measures in the camp to ensure the safety and security of its residents. UNHCR urgently reiterated the need to find solutions for the camp's residents, and appealed to countries to find places for 1,400 persons from Camp Liberty that had been submitted for relocation since 2011, stating that only 311 residents were secured to third countries so far.^[13] The National Council of Resistance of Iran informed and warned on activities in Iraq by Iranian Quds Force, led by Qasem Soleimani, aimed to massacre Camp Liberty residents via a joint operation with Iraqi forces.^[14]

See also

• United States military in Iraq
• Victory Fuel Point fuel thefts

References

External links

• Latest News Coverage on Camps Ashraf and Liberty (National Council of Resistance of Iran)