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Iran Group Rejects Albania Asylum


The Albanian government has offered asylum to 210 members of an Iranian opposition group who currently live at a former U.S. military base near the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

However, an Iranian opposition spokesman said the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MKO) was not likely to accept the offer.

Shahin Gobadi of the National Council of Resistance of Iran said asylum for only a small portion of the group could not be accepted.

The United Nations says more than 3,000 members of the group live at the former U.S. base.

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha made the asylum offer March 16 after meeting with U.S. and UN officials. Berisha said the offer was made for "humanitarian reasons."

The Mujahedin-e Khalq carried out assassinations and bombings in Iran until renouncing violence in 2001.

Based on reports from AP and AFP

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