BEIRUT, Lebanon – Heavily armed Hezbollah fighters seized control of much of western Beirut yesterday, patrolling deserted streets in a show of force that underscored the Shiite militia's refusal to back down in its confrontation with the U.S.-backed government.
Hezbollah allies also forced a government-allied satellite TV station off the air and burned the offices of its newspaper affiliate, as Sunni fighters loyal to the government largely melted away after three days of the worst sectarian clashes Lebanon has seen since its 15-year civil war.
Those humiliating blows made clearer than ever the power and determination of Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria, and its allies. By yesterday afternoon, a long column of armed Shiite fighters was riding joyfully through west Beirut in trucks, cars and scooters, shouting and firing their weapons into the air in celebration.
The government majority issued an urgent appeal for help from other nations yesterday evening, calling Hezbollah's actions an “armed coup” against Lebanon and its democratic system using “weapons sent by Tehran.”
Some government lawmakers, including the Druse leader Walid Jumblatt and Saad Hariri, the son of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, spent the day holed up in their compounds, protected by Lebanese army contingents and police.
In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States was “deeply concerned” about the ongoing violence and condemned Hezbollah for “undermining the legitimate authority of the Lebanese government.”
In spite of $400 million in U.S. funding to improve Lebanon's security forces, Hezbollah, which the Bush administration considers a terrorist organization, and its allies have rapidly dominated the capital as the army has largely stood aside.
Rice and other Bush administration officials were on the phone yesterday to their counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Lebanon. A senior administration official said the United States, which barely talks to Syria, Iran or Hezbollah, was trying to use its Arab allies to send a message to Iran and Syria to stop interfering in Lebanon.
The gunbattles of the past three days have pitted Sunni Muslims against Shiites, with Lebanon's divided Christians – including Michel Aoun, the former general who is allied with Hezbollah – sitting out the conflict. The clashes appear to be sharply exacerbating sectarian tensions between Muslims here.
By yesterday evening, the conflict had spread to Lebanon's small but influential Druse community, as a gunbattle broke out between supporters of the government and opposition in the Chouf mountains, the Druse heartland. Two people were killed, witnesses said.
It was not clear what yesterday's events would mean for Lebanon's political future, or how Hezbollah's show of force might translate into a corresponding political advantage. For now, they seemed only to deepen the political stalemate. For 17 months, Lebanon has been divided between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, which is supported by the West and Saudi Arabia. The standoff has left Lebanon without a president since late November.
