Iraq will move exiled Iranian dissidents based at a camp close to the border between the two countries to Baghdad, a government spokesman said Thursday. “We will move residents of Camp Ashraf to buildings in Baghdad on Tuesday,” he said, without giving details. The members of the People's Mujahedeen have lived at Camp Ashraf, a refugee base in Diyala province north of the Iraqi capital, for more than 20 years. Iraqi security forces launched an operation to take over the camp in July. The group was founded in 1965 in opposition to the shah of Iran and subsequently fought the clerical regime that ousted him in the 1979 revolution. About 3,500 Mujahedeen and their families have lived in Ashraf since former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein allowed the Iranian opposition to set up bases on his territory during his 1980-88 war with Tehran. Following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, American forces disarmed the Mujahedeen in Ashraf and placed the residents under protection. Iraq's increasingly independent government has moved to take charge of the site. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki accused rivals of stoking political rows that have put Iraq's security at risk, as US Defence Secretary Robert Gates arrived on a surprise visit. During questioning in parliament, Maliki said Iraq's security forces needed to be de-politicized, just days after coordinated bombings rocked Baghdad and killed 127 people. “Now if I detain Osama Bin Laden, some people will ask, ‘Why did you arrest him? He is a mujahid (religious fighter),'” Maliki reportedly said of disputes between political groups that he said were causing violence. He spoke in a closed-door meeting, and his remarks were quoted by Shiite MP Samira Al-Mussawi, who was present. “All of the recent crime is because of political and sectarian differences. I call on parliament to issue a decision to purify the security services from anyone who belongs to any political party, including my party.”
