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Lebanon Condemns 'Armed Coup'

Hezbollah doing bidding of Syria, Iran in Beirut firestorm, government claims

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted May 9, 2008 1:48 PM CDT

(Newser) – Hezbollah’s takeover of Beirut is nothing less than an “armed coup,” Lebanon’s ruling party said today. “The armed and bloody coup which is being implemented aims to return Syria to Lebanon and extend Iran's reach to the Mediterranean,” one official in the US-backed government said. The militant group made further progress, the New York Times reports, with troops loyal to the government disappearing and Hezbollah knocking state TV off the air.

Shiite gunmen carry a rifle as they ride a motorcycle down Hamra Street, May 9, 2008.
Shiite gunmen carry a rifle as they ride a motorcycle down Hamra Street, May 9, 2008.   (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Smoke rises from a building after anti-government gunmen attacked and set on fire a two-story building that belongs to Hariri's Future TV in Beirut, Lebanon Friday, May 9, 2008.
Smoke rises from a building after anti-government gunmen attacked and set on fire a two-story building that belongs to Hariri's Future TV in Beirut, Lebanon Friday, May 9, 2008.   (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
A Shiite militant fixes a picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, after an office belonging to the Future movement was seized during clashes in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, May 9, 2008.
A Shiite militant fixes a picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, after an office belonging to the Future movement was seized during clashes in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, May 9, 2008.   (AP Photo/Ahmad Omar)
A gunman, holds his AK-47 as he stands in a Sunni street in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday May 9, 2008.
A gunman, holds his AK-47 as he stands in a Sunni street in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday May 9, 2008.   (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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