RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian militant group Hamas on Monday urged Lebanon's Hezbollah militia to withdraw its fighters from Syria and accused it of stoking sectarian tensions, leveling unprecedented public criticism against a former ally.

The Hamas statement came as the region's Sunni and Shiite Muslims are lining up on opposite sides of Syria's civil war. Most of those trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad are Sunnis, as are their regional backers. Assad and key members of his regime are Alawites, followers of an offshoot of Shiite Islam, and he is being supported by Shiite Iran, also the main backer of Hezbollah.

Last month, Hezbollah sharply raised its profile in the fighting in Syria, playing a key role in the Assad regime's capture of the strategic rebel-held town of Qusair. Many Sunni hard-liners have taken Hezbollah's intervention as a declaration of war by Shiites, and some have urged Sunnis to fight alongside the rebels.

Hamas, a Sunni movement, on Monday criticized Hezbollah over its growing role in the Syria conflict. In a statement, Hamas called on Hezbollah to "withdraw its forces from Syria and keep its weapons directed at the Zionist enemy (Israel)." Hamas also said that sending forces to Syria "contributed to the sectarian polarization in the region."

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