Kataib Hezbollah members and supporters raise flags during a protest in Baghdad against decisions published in the official government gazette.
Kataib Hezbollah stages Baghdad protest over Hezbollah, Houthi terror listing
BAGHDAD – Kataib Hezbollah organized a protest Friday outside the headquarters of the Iraq Media Network in Baghdad, denouncing the appearance of decisions in the “Al-Waqa’i’ al-Iraqiya” official gazette that classified Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis as terrorist groups.
Although the gazette is issued by the Ministry of Justice, not the Iraq Media Network, the group chose the network’s building as the focal point for its demonstration. Kataib Hezbollah is one of Iraq’s most prominent Shia armed groups and is led by Secretary-General Abu Hussein Al-Hamidawi.
Protesters marched through nearby streets carrying the group’s flags as they voiced their rejection of the listings.
The demonstration came after a rapid reversal on Thursday, when the Committee for Freezing Terrorists’ Assets said the inclusion of Hezbollah and the Houthis had been “a mistake” caused by publishing an unedited draft of the list in the gazette.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Thursday ordered an “urgent investigation” into how the two groups appeared on Iraq’s terror-financing list, after their names were printed in the official journal.
Many of Iraq’s Shia armed factions, which are historically and politically close to Iran, maintain relationships with Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.