Shiite gunmen guard pro-government detainees in west Beirut on May 9, 2008. Hezbollah fighters, their guns blazing, seized control of west Beirut after three days of street battles with pro-government foes pushed Lebanon dangerously close to all-out civil war. The sectarian fighting had eased by early afternoon and the army and police moved across areas now in the hands of Iranian-backed Shiite opposition forces who routed Sunni militants loyal to the Western-backed government. Getty Images logo Getty Images 18 months ago

Shiite gunmen guard pro-government detainees in west Beirut on May 9, 2008. Hezbollah fighters, their guns blazing, seized control of west Beirut after three days of street battles with pro-government foes pushed Lebanon dangerously close to all-out civil war. The sectarian fighting had eased by early afternoon and the army and police moved across areas now in the hands of Iranian-backed Shiite opposition forces who routed Sunni militants loyal to the Western-backed government.

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