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Hizballah seizes western Beirut from Lebanese Army

May 9, 2008 8:58 am By Marisol Seibold

An update on this story, and things are going downhill fast. “Hezbollah militias assume control of western Beirut,” from CNN, May 9:

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) — Western Beirut fell under the control of opposition Hezbollah militias Friday in what amounted to an army-negotiated surrender of pro-government positions, Lebanese Internal Security Forces and Western military observers said.

The “dramatic development” is a major blow to the democratically elected and pro-Western government of Lebanon, CNN’s Brent Sadler said.

Soldiers went to several offices of pro-government political parties in western Beirut overnight, he said. They persuaded pro-government gunmen who had battled Hezbollah militants to leave the offices as the opposition forces hovered nearby, he said.

Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, part of the pro-government coalition, said the government was “now at the end of a gun barrel” and they expect the “conditions for surrender will be offered sooner or later,” Sadler reported.

“I think … it’s a coup,” Jumblatt told CNN in a phone interview. “The Lebanese army is in total paralysis.”

Rather than fight, the army has stayed above the fray. With its own political factions, taking sides could throw the military into disarray.

With pro-government gunmen out of the way, the fighting in the capital eased at bit Friday after intense gunbattles the previous two days echoed through Beirut’s streets.

At least 11 people have been killed and 44 wounded in the clashes since Wednesday, according to Lebanese Internal Security Forces.

The developments came as two pro-government television stations — Future TV and al-Ekhbariya TV — ceased operations Friday.

They went off the air after being threatened by government opponents in Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim militia, and Amal, a major Shiite party in Lebanon, according to Nadim Mounla, head of Future TV.

“Early this morning, many armed militiamen were in the surroundings of the Future television headquarters and they have sent us a very clear message: ‘Either you shut off or (we’re going to) destroy the premises,'” Mounla said.

The television stations are owned by the Hariri family, supporters of the country’s pro-Western, Sunni-led government. In addition, the building housing the Hariri-owned al-Mustaqbal newspaper came under fire overnight. No injuries were reported.

The Hariri compound in western Beirut came under fire Friday. Security sources said rocket-propelled grenades slammed into the wall surrounding the residence.

Saad Hariri, the leader of the government’s bloc in parliament, is the son of the late former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, whose 2005 assassination sparked protests that brought the current government to power and led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops.

Hariri and Jumblatt were besieged Friday in their residences in Muslim western Beirut, The Associated Press reported, while Prime Minister Fuad Saniora was believed to be under protection at his downtown office.

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