At least one person was killed and 15 were wounded today in sectarian clashes at Lebanon's second largest city Tripoli.
Explosions and machinegun fire rocked Tripoli as Sunni and Alawite Muslim gunmen battled on the outskirts of the mainly Sunni Muslim port city.
It was not immediately clear how the fighting began at dawn but tension has been high in recent weeks between the Sunni Bab Tibbaneh district and Alawite Jabal Mohsen.
Tripoli is dominated by the country's anti-Syrian Sunni-led majority coalition while a majority of Alawites maintain close ties to Syria, which is ruled by an Alawite.
Last month Lebanon ended its 18-month political crisis with the Western-backed coalition and the Hizbullah-led opposition reaching a Qatari-mediated accord. The conflict had led to a violent showdown between the two sides.
Since then there have been frequent minor security incidents between supporters of the opposing factions.