Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

By Associated Press from the [Washington Post] United Nations— Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the Iraqi government and an Iranian opposition group that was given refuge in the country during Saddam Hussein’s rule on Monday to work together to peacefully complete the group’s relocation without further delay.

Nearly 2,000 members of The People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran have moved from Camp Ashraf in northwestern Iraq to Camp Hurriya on the deserted former U.S. military base outside Baghdad known as Camp Liberty. But about 1,300 have refused to go until the Iraqi government meets their humanitarian demands, including the transfer of air conditioners, power generators, trucks and other items to their new location.]

They had been living in exile at Camp Ashraf in Iraq since Saddam welcomed them three decades ago in a common fight against Iran. But they are now being pressured to leave by the new Iraqi government, whose Shiite officials want to build stronger ties with Iran.

The Iraqi government has set a July 20 deadline for the group, also known by its Farsi name, Mujahedeen-e-Khalq or MEK, to vacate Ashraf entirely.

Anglican leaders in Ireland and Britain wrote a letter to the secretary-general urging the U.N. and the U.S. to press the Iraqi government to improve humanitarian conditions so the Ashraf residents can relocate.

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