Lebanese Al-Mustaqbal (Future) TV stopped local and cable broadcasting Friday morning after opposition gunmen sieged the station and turned it over to the Lebanese army, New TV reported.
News director of Future TV, mouthpiece of majority leader MP Saad Hariri, announced they were asked by the Lebanese army to stop broadcasting and that the station was now under army control.
Meanwhile, local Naharnet news website reported that Al-Mustaqbal newspaper building in Ramlet al-Baida, southwestern Beirut, was also attacked by rockets and automatic gunfire at dawn Friday.
Three offices for Al-Mustaqbal party in Ras Nabaa area of west Beirut were occupied by the opposition overnight, said the report, adding two people were killed and five wounded during clashes which continued overnight covering most areas of western Beirut.
Fierce street gunfire between Shiite and Sunni supporters entered the third day in Beirut, underscoring fears of further deterioration.
On Thursday, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the government made a "declaration of war" which he said would be confronted in "self defense."
His warning came after the government on Tuesday declared the group's telecommunications network was illegal and a threat to state security.
The cabinet also decided to dismiss security chief of the country's only international airport Wafik Shqaier over his alleged links to Hezbollah.
High tension between supporters of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and the Western-allied government evolved into violence since Wednesday, with explosions and gunfire sweeping across the capital.
Lebanon is mired in a long-running political standoff between feuding factions which has left the country without a president since November, when former President Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term.
While the rival factions have agreed on the election of army chief Michel Suleiman as the successor, they disagreed on the make-up of a new cabinet and 18 attempts of parliament to choose a president have been cancelled so far.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article