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On June 25 and July 2, 2024, two Arab political commentators reported that hundreds of armed operatives from Iraqi resistance factions that belong to the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) had recently entered Lebanon from Syria. According to one report, the Iraqi-Christian Babylon Movement is one of the factions that sent forces to Lebanon. The members of this movement are reportedly in the country to assist Hizbullah to deal with the Christian forces that oppose it, if and when Hizbullah decides to seize power in Lebanon.
The following is a review of the reports from the two political commentators:
On June 25, 2024, the Algerian intellectual Anwar Malik who describes himself as a "publicist, jurist, and researcher of international affairs," posted "an exclusive" report on his X account that claimed that additional operatives from the Iraqi-Christian Babylon Movement, headed by Rayan Al-Kildani, who belongs to the PMU, intend to fly to Beirut to deploy in the Christian parts of Lebanon that are hostile to Hizbullah. Malik wrote that over the past few years about a thousand members of "these militias" were trained in Lebanon in the framework of "a deployment and takeover plan" that Hizbullah has consolidated, with the objective of activating these militiamen "when necessary" inside Lebanon. Dozens of these militiamen have been living undercover in Lebanon for years, "under the patronage of Hizbullah and the Church" in the country.[1]
On July 2, 2024, Iraqi-Kurdish political commentator Yasin 'Aziz was interviewed on a TV show called Clearly, which was broadcast on July 2 on the Zagros TV network (a Kurdish satellite television station in Iraqi Kurdistan that belongs to the Kurdistan Democratic Party - KDP). During the interview, 'Aziz claimed that on that very day, an armed infantry regiment of 700 men from the Iraqi resistance factions had entered Lebanon from Syria. 'Aziz further stated that another Iraqi force was also expected to cross into Lebanon, as a reserve force, in the event that battles break out in the country. According to 'Aziz, some of these factions are official members of the PMU, and yet the Iraqi government has no control over their activities and they are essentially subordinate to Iran.[2]
Also on July 2, on his X account, Anwar Malik posted a link to the Kurdish TV show referred to above, and contended that the comments by 'Aziz confirmed Malik's exclusive reports from June 25, about PMU forces entering Lebanon from Iraq. Malik repeated that an unknown number of members of the Babylon Movement have already been in Lebanon for some time, and have been trained by Hizbullah in how "to deal" with the Christian areas of the country, in a scenario in which Hizbullah decides to seize power completely in Lebanon.[3]
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