Eyewitness: Trapped in Beirut

Three people in west Beirut describe the clashes overnight and the takeover by Hezbollah gunmen and opposition forces.

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Rania, 33, mother

I am trapped in the house with my children.

Lebanese army enter damaged shop as a Hezbollah militant looks on

I live in West Beirut in the district of Bourj Abu Haydar, it's half Sunni and half Shia - we all live together fine.

Hezbollah are now controlling the streets.

It happened yesterday. I woke up at 0800 and went out to get some food - and there they all were, blocking the way.

We didn't know we were going to wake up to find that.

The shops opened for about 10 minutes yesterday and I managed to get out and buy some food. Then the Hezbollah militia started shouting at us to get home.

They have shotguns and are wearing black uniforms. There's no-one else on the streets and there's lots of them.

Every 10 metres they've got roadblocks. You can walk through, but you can't get to another area.

I am Sunni and yes, it is an issue with them. If you're a Sunni and they know that, they might just stop you. Or they might beat you up. But other areas are worse.

My father lives in a totally Sunni area, Ras al-Nabieh. I spoke to him this morning - it's totally under Hezbollah control. He described burnt cars on the road and shattered glass.

I heard gunfire all night long in other areas of Beirut. Right now, it's calm here. But you don't know what's going to happen next.

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Serge, Austrian in Beirut

I arrived in Lebanon two weeks ago for a month-long EU project. I am now trying to leave as soon as I can.

I am in a hotel in the middle of Hamra [West Beirut], on the main road.

Small groups of people with Kalashnikovs, wearing yellow headbands, are moving around Hamra

The shots and explosions started immediately after [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah's speech yesterday, and it continued all night long.

It's still going on, every few minutes or so.

This is one of the busiest downtown areas of Beirut but if I look out of the window ... I can see a cat crossing the street. That's it. [Gunfire blast]. I look carefully and quickly.

About three hours ago I saw eleven tanks and armed personnel in two trucks moving down the street in the direction of [Saad] Hariri's place.

I have also seen a small group of armed people - with Kalashnikovs - wearing yellow headbands moving around Hamra.

I am in contact with the Austrian embassy but no-one tells me anything because no-one knows what's going on.

The hotel is great, though. There was breakfast as usual in the dining room. But the staff couldn't leave last night, they all stayed here as well.

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Sarah, 16, student

I live in the district of Ein al-Teine. Our house is in between the house of Saad Hariri [a leader of the governing coalition] and the house of the speaker of parliament.

We heard gunmen talking, telling each other what to do

It got really heavy overnight, we were all hiding in my parents' bedroom.

We heard machine guns, RPGs, and tanks right under our house.

We even heard the gunmen talking to each other, directing each other where to stand and what to do!

There are always guards about, protecting the area. But yesterday there were many more than usual.

Last night, at one point, I looked out of the window, and saw all these gunmen under a building right next to my house.

The fighting has subsided slightly after a tough night.

But people aren't even allowed to go out on their balconies, let alone leave their house.

I think Hezbollah is in control but to be honest I don't really know.