International alarm at Hezbollah "coup" in Beirut

By Andrew Roche

LONDON (Reuters) - The takeover of the Muslim half of Beirut by Hezbollah triggered alarm in the Arab world and the West on Friday, and the embattled Lebanese government called it an armed coup by the Iranian and Syrian-backed group.

The U.S. government on Friday restated its "unswerving commitment and support" for the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. Egypt and Saudi Arabia called on Arab foreign ministers to meet urgently.

In Lebanon's worst internal strife since the 1975-90 civil war, gunmen battled on Beirut's streets this week.

A deadlock between the Hezbollah-led opposition and Siniora's anti-Syrian cabinet, backed by Washington and its Arab allies, has paralyzed the country and left it without a president since November 2007.

The White House said it was "very troubled" by Hezbollah's actions and urged Iran and Syria to halt their support for the Shi'ite militant group.

The European Union, Germany and France urged calm and a peaceful resolution.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would telephone Middle Eastern leaders to discuss the crisis, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

"I would restate our unswerving commitment and support for the Siniora government," he said.

"They are doing all the right things ... Its use and deployment of the military serve the best interests of the Lebanese people and Lebanon."

McCormack told reporters he was "not aware of any contemplation" of deploying U.S. forces in the area.

He denounced Hezbollah as "armed gangs ... using violence and the threat of violence, to achieve some political end" which would only harm the Lebanese people.

McCormack said the United States had encouraged parties with influence on Syria and Iran to "tell them that they should use whatever leverage they have with Hezbollah, to tell them to pull back from these kinds of actions".

CRISIS TALKS URGED

Siniora's governing coalition pointed the finger clearly at Hezbollah's backers.

"The armed and bloody coup which is being implemented aims to return Syria to Lebanon and extend Iran's reach to the Mediterranean," it said in a statement read by Christian leader Samir Geagea.