UN chief again tells MKO to cooperate with Iraqi gov't

The U.N. chief is urging some 1,200 MKO members to follow orders to leave Camp Ashraf and resettle in Camp Liberty, near the Baghdad International Airport. 

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday also urged other countries to give asylum to the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran.

“He urges both sides to continue to work constructively in this regard with a view to peacefully concluding the transfer of the remaining residents as soon as possible,” said a statement issued by his spokesperson.

The Secretary-General also urged the residents of Camp New Iraq to cooperate with the Government of Iraq and fully abide by the laws of the country, and urged the residents to “earnestly prepare” for their next transfer to Camp Hurriya, without further delay.

The exile group, also known by its Farsi name, Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, has already moved about 2,000 of its residents from Camp Ashraf in northern Iraq to a Baghdad refugee camp, Camp Hurriya, a former U.S. military base. But they ignored a July 20 deadline to move the remaining 1,200 members, saying they will not go until they see proof of more water, increased electricity, better facilities for sick and disabled people and other improvements to the base.

The U.N. says the services at Camp Hurriya are already far better than at most other refugee camps worldwide.

On Tuesday, Iraqi National Security Adviser Faleh al-Fayadh warned the group to move soon or his government will take matters into its own hands.

Ban urged the refugees to "earnestly prepare for their next transfer." He added that "violence should, at all costs, be avoided" and urged Iraq's government to "exercise restraint."