Hezbollah 'seizes west Beirut'

Hezbollah is reported to have taken control of large areas of the Lebanese capital from groups loyal to the government following gun battles.

"There are no clashes anymore because no one is standing in the way of the opposition forces," a Lebanese security official said on Friday.

The street battles, which erupted on Wednesday, have left at least 11 people dead and 20 others wounded.

Lebanese troops began taking up positions in some neighbourhoods in west Beirut abandoned by the pro-government groups.

The army has largely avoided getting involved in the street battles amid fears of being dragged into the conflict.

Michel Aoun, the Christian leader allied with the opposition, said that normality shall be regained on the streets.

He said: "The derailed carriage is now back on track. We hope from this point that things will fall back into the normal course [of events]."

Aoun also said that he sent a letter to Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, and various member states of the UN Security Council, but "did not find a clear response to avert the crisis". 

  A rocket-propelled grenade earlier hit the fence of the heavily protected residence of Saad al-Hariri, the Sunni politician and leader of the governing coalition, in the suburb of Koreitem, a Muslim area of western Beirut on Friday.