Hezbollah gunmen seized control of west Beirut on Friday after a third day of battles with pro-government foes in the Lebanese capital pushed the nation dangerously close to all-out civil war. Security sources said at least 18 people had been killed and 38 wounded in three days of battles between pro-government gunmen and fighters loyal to Hezbollah. The fighting, the worst internal strife since the 1975-90 civil war, was triggered this week after the government took decisions targeting Hezbollah's military communications network. The group said the government had declared war. In scenes reminiscent of the darkest days of the civil war, young men armed with assault rifles roamed the streets amid smashed cars and smoldering buildings. Beirut residents were fleeing for shelter elsewhere as tanks rolled through the streets and hundreds of riot police and troops patrolled the city, but they have been ordered not to intervene. Several states have begun pulling out their nationals from Lebanon. The Saudi Embassy in Damascus is receiving Saudi citizens fleeing Lebanon across the Lebanese-Syrian border, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted embassy officials in Damascus as saying. Falih Bin Mohammed Al-Rihaili, Charge d'Affaires in Damascus, said in a statement to SPA, the embassy has sent its staff members to the Lebanese-Syrian border to receive Saudi citizens fleeing Lebanon. He said 40 of the 46 Saudis arrived at the border have left for Saudi Arabia. “The embassy will spare no effort to give necessary assistance to Saudi citizens coming from Lebanon on their way back home”, he added. Saudi Arabia, which backs the Fuad Siniora government, called for an urgent meeting of Arab foreign ministers, which an Egyptian official said could be held in two days. The United States said it was talking with other powers about taking measures against “those responsible for the violence”. Yemen suggested army chief Michel Sleiman, the consensus candidate in efforts to fill a presidential vacuum in Lebanon, be mandated to chair a dialogue to resolve the crisis. The European Union, Germany and France urged calm and a peaceful resolution. Syria said the issue was an internal Lebanese affair while Iran blamed “the adventurist interferences” of the United States and Israel for the violence. Christian leader Michel Aoun, who is allied with Hezbollah, welcomed the opposition triumph, saying: “What happened today is a victory for Lebanon.” An official with the ruling majority said the Future Movement of Sunni political leader Saad Hariri had handed over control of its institutions to the army to avoid a further escalation. Although west Beirut was virtually under siege, in the predominantly Christian eastern sector of the city, life was going on as usual. Air traffic was paralyzed for a third day with no flights scheduled to land or take off from Beirut international airport. A senior opposition source told Reuters that Hezbollah would maintain their roadblocks until a full resolution of the crisis.
