Church of England head concerned about Iranian refugeesThe head of the Church of England Church of England: see England, Church of. said that Iraq and the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. have a duty to protect Iranian refugees in a camp in Iraq from violence or abuse. Archbishop of Canterbury The Archbishop of Canterbury is the main leader of the Church of England and by convention is also recognised as head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The current archbishop is Rowan Williams. Rowan Williams  The current Anglicanism Collaboration of the Month isBook of Common Prayer The next collaboration will be selected on September 30, 2007. (Vote here) said events at Camp Ashraf Camp Ashraf or Ashraf City is situated northeast of the Iraqi town of Khalis, about 20 kilometers west of the Iranian border and 60 kilometers north of Baghdad. The city of Ashraf was named in commemoration of Ashraf Rajavi, a famous political prisoner at the time of the Shah. northeast of Baghdad "constitute a humanitarian and human rights issue of real magnitude and urgency". "There is a strong argument in terms of international law that the Ashraf residents are 'protected persons'," he said in a statement on Monday. Iraqi forces launched a deadly raid on the camp, in Diyala province, in July, killing 11 people, raising concerns about residents' safety. Iraq gained sovereignty over the camp on January 1, following the expiry of a UN mandate The term UN mandate is typically used to refer to a long-term international mission which has been authorized by the United Nations General Assembly or the UN Security Council in particular. UN mandates typically involve peacekeeping operations. that had given US forces responsibility for the camp. "Both the government of Iraq and the government of the United States -- as the agency responsible for the transfer of the residents to another jurisdiction -- have an obligation to secure the rights of these residents and to defend them from violence or abuse." The archbishop said a UN monitoring group should be established to visit the camp, which is home to 3,500 People's Mujahedeen mu·ja·hi·deen also mu·ja·he·deen or mu·ja·hi·din pl.n. Muslim guerrilla warriors engaged in a jihad. [Arabic or Persian muj members and their families. Williams, who met a group of Ashraf supporters last week, urged protesters in Britain to end their hunger strike in support of the camp residents. US ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill earlier this month vowed to press the Iraqi government, which the Mujahedeen say answers to Tehran, to live up to assurances to treat the residents humanely and make sure they are not repatriated to Iran. The People's Mujahedeen, an Islamic movement, was founded in 1965 in opposition to the shah of Iran. It has subsequently fought to oust the clerical regime which took power in the 1979 Islamic revolution. The group set up Camp Ashraf in the 1980s -- when former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was at war with Iran -- as a base to operate against the Tehran government. 
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