Chalabi refuses to evacuate Baghdad office

"They would have to handcuff us and lead us and put us in the same cell as Saddam (Hussein)," threatened Chalabi aide Mithal al-Alusi.

The Iraqi National Congress occupies two properties in the upscale Mansur district.

The so-called Chinese House, where Chalabi also lives, used to belong to the ousted president and the adjacent building to the Iraqi secret service.

"This villa is a symbol of democracy," said Alusi, adamant that the party would not bow to the two orders, dated June 30 and August 7, and delivered by a US soldier on Tuesday afternoon.

"It is part of a long plot with the participation of some Iraqi elements, the CIA, Jordan and other parties to stop Iraq's progress towards democracy and to eliminate the free thinkers," he charged.