Gun battles flare in Lebanon's Tripoli

Gun battles have erupted again in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, with gunmen firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.

At least three people were killed in clashes overnight linked to the civil war in neighbouring Syria, Lebanese police sources said.

Two gunmen wounded in overnight clashes between fighters from the Sunni district of Bab al-Tabbaneh and the
Alawite neighbourhood of Jebel Mohsen died of their wounds, the sources said.

An elderly civilian man was also shot dead by a sniper on Friday. Eleven others were wounded.

Tripoli, like much of Lebanon, is divided along sectarian lines and is only 50km from the Syrian border. Its majority Sunni Muslims, who back the Syrian rebels, often clash with the minority from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect.

Weapons base

Tripoli's Sunnis and Alawites have clashed on-and-off for decades but the Syrian conflict has worsened tensions, with each side accusing the other of using the city as a base for sending fighters and weapons in and out of Syria.

The small Mediterranean country experiences regular car bombs and rocket attacks, as well as incursions by the Syrian army in pursuit of rebels who move across the border.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Lebanon's parliament gave a newly-formed cabinet a vote of confidence, ending almost a year of political deadlock.