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Following the Thursday’s rocket attack on the MKO’s camp, UNHCR said 1,400 Mujahedin-e Khalq (MKO, a.k.a. MEK and NCRI) members are ready for relocation to third countries, throwing the ball in the court of the group’s supporters to take action and accept these individuals in their countries. |
“UNHCR urgently reiterates the need to find solutions for the camp's residents, and is appealing to countries to act urgently on 1,400 cases from Camp Hurriya that have already been submitted for relocation,” said the UN's refugee agency in a press release.
The press release added that since 2011, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) have been “engaged in an effort to find relocation opportunities outside Iraq” for some 3,200 members of MKO now residing temporarily inside Camp Liberty, a former US military base near Baghdad International Airport.
“So far, the international community has managed to secure the relocation to third countries of 311 residents, clearly demonstrating that more relocation places are urgently needed,” UNHCR added.
Raising concerns at the Thursday’s attack on Camp Liberty, Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Nickolay Mladenov also said the Iraqi Government, in cooperation with the Camp Liberty leadership, “needs to take immediate action to ensure that appropriate measures are put in place to maximise the security of the residents.”
He also urged the international community to urgently intensify efforts to find resettlement opportunities, describing it as “the ultimate guarantee of the security and safety” of MKO members.