Gunmen from the militant Shia Hezbollah and its allies took control of west Beirut yesterday, crushing fighters from the pro-government faction, Future Movement, and opening an uncertain new chapter in Lebanon’s history.

The west Beirut residences of Saad Hariri, who heads the Sunni Future Movement, and Walid Jumblatt, leader of Lebanon’s Druze community, were besieged by heavily armed fighters from Hezbollah and its Shia ally, the Amal Movement. Security sources said that at least 11 people had been killed and 30 wounded in three days of bloodshed.

By noon yesterday fighting had mostly petered out after Future Movement fighters laid down their weapons and allowed themselves to be escorted away under the protection of Lebanese troops. “It was a one-sided civil war,” Hani Hammoud, senior adviser to Mr Hariri, told The Times, speaking by telephone from Mr Hariri’s besieged residence. “The end result is that Iran has taken over the country.”

In the mainly Sunni and Druze Sakiet al-Janzir quarter tired but triumphant Hezbollah and Amal gunmen stood in doorways as the crackle of gunfire echoed down near deserted streets.

“The people went to sleep last night with Omar and woke up this morning with Ali,” joked Hassan, commander of a small Hezbollah unit, referring to classic Sunni and Shia names respectively.

Hezbollah and Amal fighters forced the closure of the Hariri-owned Future TV station and burnt down the offices of Al-Mustaqbal newspaper, also owned by the Hariri family, as well as closing other media outlets associated with the Future Movement.

Hassan was armed with an AK47 rifle and grenades stuffed into canvas webbing slung over a T-shirt and jeans. Hezbollah’s plan, he said, was to take control of west Beirut and force the Government to back down from its decisions on Tuesday to dismantle the Shia organisation’s private telephone network and investigate allegations that it had been using security cameras to monitor Beirut airport. “Once that happens, we will all go home,” he said.

Although those decisions triggered the showdown, Hezbollah’s stunning military success on the streets of Beirut has overshadowed its original demands.

“They have won an embarrassment of riches,” said Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Endowment’s Middle East Centre in Beirut. “What does Hezbollah want to do now?” Although Cabinet ministers maintained an air of resolve against the Hezbollah offensive, it is doubtful that the Government can survive under its current configuration.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said that the US was consulting with the UN and regional governments “about measures that must be taken to hold those responsible for the violence in Beirut accountable.” In the mixed Sunni-Shia Ras al-Nabaa neighbourhood, which suffered some of the heaviest fighting, residents inspected the damage in the streets where most cars were riddled with bullet holes. “I have lived here since 1975,” said one woman, referring to the first year of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war. “But nothing I experienced during the war was as bad as last night.”

The US and France called for an end to the fighting. Saudi Arabia demanded a meeting of Arab foreign ministers.

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