Germany bans Hezbollah’s political wing

BERLIN

Germany has banned Hezbollah entirely, the Interior Ministry announced on Thursday.

Interior Ministry spokesman Steve Alter described Hezbollah a “Shia terrorist organization” in a statement he posted on Twitter, and said Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has ordered a ban Thursday on the activities of the group in Germany.

“Simultaneous police operations continue in several federal states since the early hours of [Thursday] morning,” he said.

Hezbollah’s military wing was banned previously.

The Lebanese group has around 1,000 supporters in Germany, according to the country’s domestic intelligence agency BfV.

In 2013, European Union (EU) member states banned Hezbollah’s armed wing but resisted pressure from the US and Israel to outlaw the group entirely.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah is recognized as a major political party and plays a role in the country’s complex power structure.

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