26/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - EU deliberates on Camp Ashraf. Head of the European diplomatic corps Catherine Ashton has appointed an experienced Belgian diplomat to give consideration to the fate of around 3,400 Iranian refugees who have been living for some 30 years in Camp Ashraf in Iraq. Jean De Ruyt, a former Belgian ambassador to the EU, will act as an “adviser” in Brussels and will consider the EU response to the issue of Camp Ashraf, said Ashton's spokesman Michael Mann, on Monday 26 September. Camp Ashraf, located to the north of Baghdad, has been home to members of the Iranian opposition since the 1980s. It was under US control until January 2009, when security was handed over to the Iraqi government. In April, a raid by Iraqi forces left 34 people dead, according to UN figures. Iraq would like to close the camp before the end of the year. The appointment of De Ruyt was welcomed by MEP Struan Stevenson, who suggested that he, De Ruyt, should “visit Ashraf as quickly as possible”. (LC/transl.rt)