Hezbollah militias took control of several western Beirut neighborhoods Friday, shutting down pro-government media outlets, military observers said.

At least 11 people died in skirmishes around the city as forces loyal to the government clashed with Hezbollah gunmen, the Financial Times reported.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has accused the government of declaring war against his group through several recent decisions. He has demanded the reversal of the decisions, including a declaration that a Hezbollah communications network was illegal and the firing of a Shiite general from his post as head of airport security after surveillance equipment was found.

Seized were Future TV and al-Mustaqbal newspaper, both owned by by Saad Hariri, leader of the parliamentary majority backing Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, the Financial Times reported. The airport also was closed and several highways blocked.

Hariri called on Nasrallah Thursday to end the siege of Beirut.

Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a member of the pro-government coalition, said the government was now at the end of a gun barrel, and expecting conditions of surrender to be offered sooner or later, CNN reported.

I think ... it's a coup, Jumblatt told CNN. The Lebanese army is in total paralysis.

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