MKO elects new secretary-general
BAGHDAD, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The exiled Iranian opposition Mujahideen
Khalq has elected a 33-year-old woman, Beheshteh Shadrou, as its secretary-general
to replace Mhavash Sepehri, a spokesman said on Monday.
The election took place on Sunday at a military base near the Iranian
border in neighbouring Iraq with thousands of Iraq-based Mujahideen fighters
participating, spokesman Fareed Sulaimani said.
Mujahideen Kalq holds elections every two years to the post of secretary
general. This year's election coincided with the 35th anniversary of the
formation of the group, the most powerful armed opposition to the Islamic
government in Tehran.
Mujahideen Khalq maintains several military of camps inside Iraq. They
are armed with tanks, artillery and helicopter gunships and have been targets
of Iranian attacks.
Curbing Mujahideen activities in Iraq is one of Tehran's conditions
for normalising ties with Baghdad. Iraq in turn accuses Iran of providing
refuge for Shi'ite Moslem dissidents who mount hit-and-run attacks on southern
Iraq.
Opponents have attacked the Mujahideen's heavily-guarded headquarters
in Baghdad and its military camps. On Thursday, it said one of its bases
in Iraq came under fire from Iranian agents, but reported no casualties.
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