EU diplomats: EU to list Hezbollah's military wing as terrorist group

Diplomats announced on Tuesday that the European Union is set to list the military wing of Hezbollah on its list of terrorist organizations.

This step came after a member state filed on Monday a request to label the group as "terrorist", diplomats added.

The diplomats told Agence France Presse that the request submitted by Britain will be discussed in June.

al-Hayat newspaper said on Sunday that France, the main opponent of such a step, could probably approve the request since Hezbollah members are fighting the Syrian rebels.

Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite movement, is heavily invested in the survival of the Damascus regime and is known to have sent fighters to aid government forces.

The group's growing role in the conflict next door points to the deeply sectarian nature of the war in Syria, in which a rebellion driven by the country's Sunni majority seeks to overthrow a regime dominated by the Alawite minority.

Hezbollah's growing role in the Syrian war has raised tensions considerably in Lebanon and strengthened concerns of the conflict spilling over the country's volatile border.


LBCI/REUTERS