Iraq, UN agree to move MKO

TEHRAN, Dec. 27 (MNA) – The United Nations and the Iraqi government have agreed to transfer several thousand members of the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) from Camp New Iraq, which was formerly known as Camp Ashraf. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq announced an agreement Sunday night that establishes a process to move the residents of Camp New Iraq to a temporary location. It did not give a timeline for the move or specify the new location, the Associated Press reported. A recent statement from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the residents would be moved to Camp Liberty, a former U.S. military base near the Baghdad International Airport. At Camp Liberty, the UN refugee agency will interview the residents to determine their eligibility to get refugee status, before they can eventually be resettled in third countries, Clinton said. “We are encouraged by the Iraqi government’s willingness to commit to this plan, and expect it to fulfill all its responsibilities,” she said in the statement. “To be successful, this resettlement must also have the full support of the camp’s residents, and we urge them to work with the UN to implement this relocation.” On December 21, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that his government had agreed to extend a year-end deadline for closing Camp New Iraq by six months and would allow the camp to stay open into January as residents are being relocated.