Six people were killed and 40 wounded in the Lebanese northern port city of Tripoli on Sunday in sectarian clashes linked to the conflict in neighboring Syria, according to media reports.
Fighting reportedly erupted before dawn on Sunday as opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Sunni Bab al-Tebbaneh Alawi district exchanged machine gun and rocket fire with Assad supporters of the neighboring Alawi district, Jabal Mohsen.
According to a security official, the clashes left three people in each community dead and continued "off and on" into the afternoon.
Sunday's fighting marked the first conflict between the rival neighborhoods since armed forces were deployed in the area early on Friday.
The latest deaths have brought the number killed by clashes in Tripoli since Tuesday to 19, including two children.
