TEHRAN -- Albanian police authorities have reportedly taken control of the camp accommodating members of the anti-Iran terrorist cult Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) near capital Tirana, imposing a strict curfew over the entire area.
The police in the southeastern European country do not allow either entry into or exit from the Ashraf-3 camp in the country’s western town of Manëz, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.
Last week, Albania’s Special Court on Corruption and Organized Crime ordered state authorities to prevent MKO ringleader Maryam Rajavi from entering the country.
Informed sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the verdict came after Albanian officials examined available pieces of evidence and concluded that the MKO was using the country to organize anti-Iran terrorist attacks.
Rajavi reportedly fled the Ashraf-3 camp to France after Albanian police forces raided the site on June 20 due to its engagement in “terror and cyberattacks” against foreign institutions. Authorities seized 150 computer devices linked to MKO’s terrorist activities.
At least one terrorist was killed and dozens of others were injured during the clashes at the camp. More than a week later, the police entered the camp again and security forces were deployed at the entrance to the camp to control all vehicles leaving the site.
Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama later declared that the MKO must leave the country if it wants to use Albanian soil to fight against Iran, adding that his country has no intention of being at war with Iran and “does not accept anyone who has abused our hospitality.”
The MKO has carried out numerous terrorist attacks against Iranian civilians and government officials since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks over the past four decades, about 12,000 had fallen victim to MKO’s brutal acts of terror, including the killing of innocent women and children.
The European Union, Canada, the United States and Japan had previously listed the MKO as a “terrorist organization.”
In 2012, the group was taken off the U.S. list of terrorist organizations, marking Washington’s decision to begin collaborating with the notorious terrorist group in plans to undermine the Islamic Republic of Iran. The EU followed suit, removing the group from its list of terrorist organizations.