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 paralysed 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.