DHAKA: The Arab League has declared the Lebanese Shia Muslim movement Hezbollah a terrorist organization, a week after a similar move by Arab Gulf states.

The Arab League, dominated by Sunni Muslim countries, said the decision had been near unanimous, reports the BBC.

Hezbollah is a key political and military force in Lebanon, and is involved in the conflict in Syria.

Its support for President Bashar al-Assad has long pitted it against Gulf states backing rebels.

Correspondents say the move by the Arab League, in the wake of the decision by the Saudi-led Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), will intensify pressure on Hezbollah.

The move aligns the 22-member organization firmly behind Saudi Arabia and the bloc of six GCC states.

Tensions between Saudi Arabia in particular and Hezbollah have intensified recently as the Saudis have clashed more openly with Hezbollah’s main backer, Iran.

The decision on Hezbollah came at a meeting of foreign ministers of the 22 Arab League members in Cairo.

Lebanon and Iraq had not supported the decision, having expressed ‘reservations’, a statement said.

BDST: 1510 HRS, MAR 12, 2016
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