Iraq has summoned Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador Thamer Sabhan to protest his recent remarks about the government-backed militia, a statement published on the Iraqi Foreign Ministry website said Sunday.
Sabhan told Iraqi television on Saturday the Popular Mobilization Units, the Hashd al-Shaabi, operated based on sectarianism and tribalism. The organization reportedly has up to 100,000 members from 40 almost exclusively Shiite militias.
"Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Iraq [was summoned] to inform him of an official protest regarding his remarks to the media that represent interference in Iraq’s internal affairs, a departure from diplomatic protocol and which are based on inaccurate information," the statement read.
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