The pullback indicated Hezbollah did not intend a lasting takeover of the Sunni Muslim parts of Beirut, unlike the seizure of the Gaza Strip a year ago by the Islamic militant group Hamas. Hezbollah's leaders likely are wary of pushing too far in a nation whose people are divided among 17 Christian and Muslim sects.

The political crisis has its roots in a split among Lebanese over Syrian and Iranian influence in their country. Hezbollah and its allies are friendly with those two nations, while the factions united behind Saniora look to the West and accuse Syria and Iran of using Lebanon to push their agenda for the Middle East.

Lebanon's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, said he was confident Lebanon will not drift into widespread Iraq-style sectarian bloodshed.

But the street violence stunned many in the country, leaving streets empty and people huddled inside their homes in fear and uncertainty.

"I'm shocked," said Iman Humaydan, a 51-year-old Druse author. "It reminds me of 1982 when Israel invaded Lebanon and caused hatred among the people. And now once again people feel hate."

Saniora and five Cabinet ministers were at the heavily protected prime minister's compound in downtown Beirut.

Other officials of the pro-government coalition met in the Christian heartland north of the city. Afterward, pro-government Christian leader Samir Geagea read a statement accusing Hezbollah of attempting a coup so Syria and Iran can control Lebanon.

"Violence will not terrorize us, but it will increase our resolve," he said.

Nationals from several countries, including Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, left Lebanon by way of Syria in large numbers. France and Italy said they were preparing for a possible evacuation of their citizens.

Hezbollah has shut Lebanon's airport by barricading the road leading to it. The seaport also was closed, leaving one land route to Syria as Lebanon's only link to the outside world.

During the fighting, gunmen burned a newspaper's offices and a Future TV station building belonging to the top Sunni leader, Saad Hariri. They also forced another station to shut down.

Hariri, the son of assassinated former premier Rafik Hariri, and an ally, Druse political leader Walid Jumblatt, holed up in their residences, protected by Lebanese army troops. Opposition leaders said they would not be harmed.

At one point, a rocket-propelled grenade hit the fence of Hariri's heavily protected compound, security officials said. A group of gunmen fired about a dozen bullets at a statue of Rafik Hariri next to the seafront road where he was killed by a truck bomb three years ago.