Israel has claimed that Iran was behind the terror group Hizbollah's armed struggle with the Lebanese government and warned that the conflict could spill into a wider Middle East crisis.
Hizbollah fighters spread virtually unopposed across west Beirut districts loyal to the pro-Western government.

After a night of firefights, the mainly Sunni Muslim residents of the capital's west woke to find Shia Hizbollah fighters patrolling the streets.

The main compounds of country's two senior political leaders were besieged in a dramatic demonstration of the shift in power.

Interspersed among the masked and heavily-armed fighters on Friday were political operatives who exercised a calm but wary control.

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"You are welcome but it is dangerous here. Be very careful," a bearded commander, fingering a Kalishnikov rifle, said.

"Do not take any photos of anybody, not even their backs, nothing. This is an orderly response but we cannot guarantee your safety."

From their barricaded homes, residents described a night during which the sound of thunderstorms mixed with grenade explosions and the automatic gunfire.

"It was terrifying," said one woman.

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