The first batch of residents of Camp Hurriya have left Iraq for permanent relocation in Albania, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.
Some 14 Camp Hurriya residents were flown to Albania on Wednesday in line with the European nation's offer to resettle some 210 camp residents, Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement.
Camp Hurriya, also known as Camp Liberty, currently has over 3,000 residents. It has been witnessing a deterioration of the security situation in recent months after the arrival of residents of Camp Ashraf.
Camp Ashraf, which was opened in the 1980s in Diyala province, had served as a refugee base for members of the People's Mujahedin of Iran or the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) for almost two decades before its residents were relocated to Camp Hurriya in Baghdad last year by the Iraqi government.
In recent months, the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as well as the world body's Assistance Mission for Iraq, and in particular the Secretary-General's Special Representative Martin Kobler, have been working towards a peaceful and durable solution to the issue. Subsequently, Albania offered to resettle some 210 camp residents.
Psaki used Wednesday's statement to express Washington's appreciation of Albania's offer, and noted that the European nation had been a strong partner of the United States in bringing peace and stability to Iraq. She also urged the MEK leadership to cooperate fully with the UNHCR relocation process and to facilitate access by U.N. monitors to Camp Hurriya residents.
"The relocation of Camp Hurriya residents outside of Iraq is vital to their safety and security. It is the responsibility of the MEK leadership to facilitate for the residents of Camp Hurriya free and unfettered access to U.N. human rights monitors," Psaki said, reiterating Washington's continued support for the ongoing U.N. resettlement efforts.
The MEK was founded in 1965 to oppose the Shah of Iran, but the group later turned against Iran's clerical regime that ousted the Shah in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Subsequently, executed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein allowed the group to set up bases in Iraq, and armed its military wing to fight along side Iraqi troops in the 1980-88 war against Iran.
"The United States reiterates its strong support for the efforts of UNHCR, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), and the Special Representative of the Secretary General Martin Kobler," Psaki said in the statement.
"We continue to emphasize that the camp and its residents must be secured in accordance with the December 25, 2011 Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations and the Government of Iraq, and urge all involved parties to work together effectively on this," she added.
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