Fighting on the outskirts of Tripoli has pitted Sunnis from the anti-Syrian faction against pro-Syrian Alawites. Several homes and a petrol station were set ablaze and people fled the area.

The violence comes despite a political accord which led to the election of a president and moves towards forming a government of national unity.

Western-backed anti-Syrian Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and pro-Syrian parties led by Hezbollah have so far failed to reach agreement on the make-up of the new government.

Gunmen traded fire between the mainly Sunni Muslim Bab Tibbaneh district and the Alawite Jabal Mohsen area. They fired machineguns, grenades and mortars, driving hundreds of civilians from the area.

One of the fatalities on Monday was a 55-year-old man killed by a stray bullet as he drove along the main highway linking Tripoli with Syria. Two other people died of wounds sustained on Sunday.