Lebanese officials say fighting between government supporters andopponents in Lebanon's second-largest city has killed four people,including a policeman.
Another 30 people were wounded Sunday inthe northern city of Tripoli as rival factions battled each other withmachine guns and rockets.
The battles involved Sunni Muslimfighters who support the Lebanese government and Alawite militiamenloyal to the Hezbollah-led opposition.
The fighting began atdawn and eased briefly when local leaders met in Tripoli and urged theLebanese army to take charge of the city. But, officials say thebattles resumed after sunset.
In another development, a bombblast in southern Lebanon seriously wounded a senior member of amilitant group linked to al-Qaida.
Officials say the bomb wasplaced in a trash can in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh.The blast wounded three people, including Imad Yassin, a leader of theIslamist militant group Jund al-Sham.
Tensions between Lebanon'srival factions have been growing in recent weeks as their politicalleaders struggle to form a new Cabinet under the terms of anArab-brokered deal signed in May.