Local Congressman to Hold Hearing on Massacre in Iraq

On Thursday, local Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced plans to hold a hearing to investigate the massacre of Iranian civilians at a refugee camp in Iraq and “what role the U.S. State Department may have played in a cover up of the crime.”

“The shooting of unarmed women and children by Iraqi troops at Camp Ashraf is not a diplomatic incident to be explained away by our State Department,” Rohrabacher said in a written statement. “It is a crime against humanity. My oversight subcommittee will hold a hearing to investigate this massacre to hold accountable those responsible, including those in our own government, who may have tried to cover up what happened.”

According to Rohrabacher, an Iraqi Army unit invaded Camp Ashraf in Eastern Iraq on the morning of April 8, killing 34 and injuring over 300 of the unarmed camp residents just 12 hours after a U.S. military unit left the camp. The Iraqi Government and the U.S. State Department have prohibited members of Congress from visiting the location, raising concerns that the U.S. may be helping Iraq cover up an atrocity, said Rohrabacher.

The State Department refuses a bipartisan request by Members of Congress to travel to Camp Ashraf in June, Rohrabacher added.

"We will not back down from this demand," said Rohrabacher, adding, "We do not permit these murders to walk away unpunished."