Anglican Head Urges Protection for Iranian Refugees

Agence France-Presse reports that the Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has called on the U.S. andIraq to do more to protect Iranian refugees. The head of the Church of England said Sunday that Iranian refugees trapped at Camp Ashraf 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. Eleven people were killed when Iraqi forces raided the camp in July. "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," he said.