Word: iraq
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Iran, also known as the MEK. A formerly-armed group that critics say resembles a cult, the MEK helped overturn the Shah in 1979, but in the '80s clashed with former Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini and fled Iran. Saddam Hussein let the exiles set up bases in Iraq - Camp Ashraf is the last standing - and gave the group arms and training to help him fight his war with Iran...
...like a safe haven. On July 28, clashes between camp dwellers and Iraqi forces left 11 Iranians dead, scores more wounded and 36 imprisoned. Now the remaining MEK members in the camp live in fear of being sent back to Iran and thrown in prison, or being displaced within Iraq, where they face deep antagonism for their former ties to Saddam. (At Tehran's Bidding? Iraq Cracks Down on a Controversial Camp...
...Relatives of those living in the camp fear repeat violence, and say the camp's food, water and medical supplies have recently become severely limited. Samer Muscati, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, hopes the bloodshed is not a sign of things to come in Iraq: "Civilians have to be given basic human rights considerations, whether or not they're protected under an agreement...
...take back protective control of the camp. In the long term, they'd like permanent U.N. protection for the dissidents. Several lawmakers and lawyer groups in Britain are voicing their support. On Sept. 9, London-based law firm Finers Stephens Innocent released a legal opinion calling on Iraq to respect the Geneva Convention in protecting the camp dwellers - and insisting the U.S. ensure their safety. (Full disclosure: Finers Stephens Innocent has represented TIME in the past...
...podium to address supporters on his 44th day without food. Someone helps him walk slowly back to his cot, and he lies down again, facing the U.S. embassy. Whether or not the strikers continue to go hungry, Camp Ashraf's fate depends on who has more influence on Iraq: the U.S. or Iran. And that's a contest the U.S. would be loath to lose...