Lebanon PM says state will not fall to Hezbollah

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said on Saturday the state would not fall to Hezbollah after the group took over the Muslim part of Beirut.

“Your state will not fall under the control of the coup implementers,” Siniora said in a televised address to the Lebanese people. It was his first comment since Hezbollah and allied fighters routed pro-government gunmen in west Beirut on Friday.

“We have not and will not declare war on Hezbollah but … we will not agree to the storming of neighborhoods and homes and the killing of innocent civilians,” he said.

Hezbollah had said the Siniora government declared war against it when it decided to outlaw its telecommunications network.