BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) — Hezbollah militias took control of Western
Beirut Friday, dealing a major blow to the U.S.-backed government in the worst
sectarian violence since the end of the country’s civil war.

“I think … it’s a coup,” said Walid Jumblatt, a Druze leader and part
of the pro-government coalition.

Two pro-government TV stations shut down. The head of one, Future TV,
said Hezbollah was sending a “clear message” that it would “destroy” them.
Later an engineer from Future TV told CNN that, according to eye witnesses, the
station’s now empty building in West Beirut had been set on fire.

The country’s elected, pro-Western government has long been locked in a
power struggle with Hezbollah. In public statements and demonstrations in
recent years, the Shiite militant group backed by Iran and Syria threatened to
use its power and popularity to oust the Sunni-led government, triggering fears
of a new civil war that could further destabilize the volatile region.