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The third of October started as a day of celebration in Saida Omar Mohamud's household as that morning she gave birth to a baby girl.

In a windswept corner we came across a woman willing to talk - Saida Temirbulatova, 47, a former tax inspector from Dagestan.

Shelters in the southern city of Saida, a refuge for thousands of displaced, emptied by around 80%, Lebanese authorities say.

"The ocean advances every day and our houses are becoming weaker. We are afraid and distressed but there is nothing much we can do," Saida Idris, a community leader, told the BBC.

As the clashes continued over days, some feared they would spill over into neighbouring Saida, a large port city.