VIENNA, May 13, 2008 (AFP) - The International Press Institute, a media watchdog, on Tuesday strongly condemned the attacks on media in Lebanon during the past six days of sectarian bloodshed.

The recent eruption "of full-fledged armed clashes between pro-government and opposition militiamen in Lebanon included several attacks on both journalists and media outlet offices," the watchdog said in a statement.

Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah militants last Friday forced the shutdown of all media belonging to the family of parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri, amid fierce sectarian clashes in the capital.

Six reporters have been injured covering the violence, according to the IPI.

"IPI condemns the recent attacks in the strongest possible terms, and calls on all parties involved to refrain from targeting the media," said its director David Dadge.

"It is vital that the media is able to ensure that the public remains informed of ongoing events, particularly in times of political upheaval."

Hariri's Future TV station and its sister news channel resumed broadcasting on Tuesday outside of Beirut. A radio station owned by the Hariri family also resumed broadcasting and the Al-Mustaqbal daily shut down by Hezbollah was to appear again on Wednesday.

Fighting between Hezbollah and mostly Sunni and Druze pro-government loyalists since Wednesday has killed at least 62 people, in the worst sectarian unrest since the 1975-1990 civil war.