Iranian exiles 'must leave Iraq'

12 April 2011 Last updated at 00:17 GMT Iraq's Shia-led government has repeatedly vowed to close Camp Ashraf Iraq's government has said members of an Iranian exile group must leave the country by the end of the year, after deadly clashes with security forces.

The People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) would be forced out of its base north of Baghdad, Camp Ashraf, "using all means", a spokesman said.

But its members would be deported to a third country and not Iran, he added.

The PMOI's political wing has said 34 people were killed and 300 injured in an "attack" on Camp Ashraf on Friday.

Medics say at least 10 died, while officials put the toll at three.

The PMOI, also known as Mojahedin-e Khalq, is considered a terrorist group by the US and Iran.

It set up Camp Ashraf in Iraq in the 1980s and was welcomed by then-President Saddam Hussein, who was fighting a war against Iran. He funded and armed the PMOI, which fought alongside Iraqi troops.

'No intention of staying'

During the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Camp Ashraf was bombed by coalition forces. PMOI leaders eventually agreed a ceasefire and its members were disarmed.

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We have to find a nation where they can go, and we will look to the UN to help”

End Quote Ali al-Dabbagh Iraqi government spokesman In 2009, the US military handed responsibility for the camp to Iraq's Shia-led government, which has repeatedly vowed to close it.

On Monday, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said that in the wake of last week's violence the cabinet had "committed to implement an earlier decision about disbanding the terrorist group, the People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, by the end of this year at the latest, and the necessity of getting it out of Iraq".

"This organisation must be removed from Iraqi territory by all means, including political and diplomatic, with the co-operation of the UN and international organisations," he said in a statement.

Iraq was "taking into consideration the wish of the PMOI members to choose the country in which they wish to reside", he added.

"We have to find a nation where they can go, and we will look to the UN to help."

A spokesman for the UN High Commission on Refugees, Andrej Mahecic, said residents of Camp Ashraf could apply individually for refugee status, which would help them find a permanent home.

But before that could happen, they would have to renounce violence as a means of achieving their goals, which some have refused to do, he added.

Shahin Gobadi, a PMOI spokesman based in Paris, said the camp residents would be willing to move to the US or EU member states willing to grant them asylum.

"We have no intention of staying in Iraq, but there has been no response," he told the Reuters news agency.

Mr Gobadi said they were also willing to return to Iran, but only if it could be guaranteed that they would not be punished by the authorities.

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Iraq forces attack Iranian exiles

8 April 2011 Last updated at 13:32 GMT Iranian exiles accused Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki of ordering the attack Iraqi forces have attacked a camp housing an Iranian exile group north of Baghdad, home to about 3,500 people.

Reports suggest at least three died in the clashes between troops and the People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) at Camp Ashraf.

The PMOI said more than 25 were killed and many wounded in the raid, but Iraqi officials have disputed the figures.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates expressed concern and urged Iraq to show restraint.

The PMOI, a guerrilla group that opposes Iran's Shia cleric leaders, is considered a terrorist group by the US and Iran.

'Unprecedented murder'

The Iraqi army says that it went into Camp Ashraf, in Diyala province, to confront stone-throwers, and that the clashes were limited.

But the PMOI described the raid, which took place early on Friday, as a full-scale military assault with armoured vehicles.

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I can't deny the occurrence of injuries among residents of Camp Ashraf, because we do not have information from inside the camp”

End Quote Ali al-Dabbagh Iraqi government The PMOI said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, under the order of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had committed an "unprecedented murder in Ashraf".

Major Hassan al-Tamimi of the Iraqi army in Baquba, capital of the province, told AFP news agency that three people had been killed and 20 injured, among them six soldiers.

But the death toll was not confirmed by the government.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Ashraf residents had thrown rocks at security forces during a "riot" and denied that Iraqi forces had opened fire.

"The security forces have pushed back residents of Camp Ashraf inside the camp by force," Mr Dabbagh said. "The situation is now controlled."

"I can't deny the occurrence of injuries among residents of Camp Ashraf, because we do not have information from inside the camp," he added.

'International obligations'

The PMOI, also known as Mojahedin-e Khalq, set up Camp Ashraf in Iraq in the 1980s and was welcomed by then-President Saddam Hussein, who was fighting a war against Iran.

The PMOI's military wing fought alongside Iraqi soldiers.

Correspondents say many of the organisation's members continue to live in Camp Ashraf, to the annoyance of both Iraqi and Iranian governments.

Human rights organisations say that the residents of the camp should be protected from persecution or attack.

Mr Gates, who is visiting Iraq, said: "We're very concerned with reports of deaths and injuries resulting from this morning's clashes.

"I urge the Iraqi government to show restraint and to live up to its commitments to treat residents of Ashraf according to Iraqi law and their international obligations."

In January, a Spanish judge opened an investigation into a raid by Iraqi security forces on Camp Ashraf in July 2009 which left 11 people dead. He wanted to see whether crimes against humanity were committed.

A complaint filed by human rights lawyers on behalf of relatives of the victims alleged that police and soldiers shot and beat unarmed residents of the camp so they could clear a space to build a police station there.

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