Shutting Down Future: Beirut Battles Claim TV Stations

The violent clashes between Lebanon's pro-government forces and Hezbollah-led opposition have had an immediate impact on the country's TV biz after Hezbollah fighters forcibly shut down the media outlets of parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri's Future movement.

Satcasters Future TV and Future News were taken off the air Friday after Hezbollah members threatened to forcibly eject its employees, according to station director Nadim Al-Munla.

"They threatened to kill and attack our employees, and at the end of the day their safety must come first," said Al-Munla. "Both stations are off the air. Hezbollah members occupied the building and cut all the cables of the master control room. Our signal to the outside has been cut, but hopefully we will resume broadcasting soon from another location."

The Future movement's newspaper and radio station were also shuttered, with reports that the station's building in West Beirut, the scene of the fiercest fighting, had been set on fire.