Lebanese army tanks patrolled the streets after militants from the rival Sunni Muslim and Alawite communities fought with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons in the latest bout of violence to rock the Mediterranean city.
Among the dead were a 10-year-old boy and two women, while over 50 people were injured, the security officials said
Lebanon has been hit by sporadic outbreaks of violence despite a power-sharing deal between rival political factions in May which led to the election of Michel Sleiman as president and the creation of a unity cabinet.
The latest unrest comes after the new cabinet hit snags in deliberations aimed at drawing up a policy agenda ahead of a parliamentary vote of confidence which would enable the government to be officially installed.
Despite a ceasefire that went into effect at 1500 GMT on Friday, intense fighting raged through the night but by Saturday morning the situation was calm as the army sent in reinforcements.
Dozens of tanks and armored vehicles were patrolling the streets to keep the peace between fighters in the mainly Sunni Bab al-Tebbaneh district and the neighboring largely Alawite area of Jabal Mohsin.
Interior Minister Ziad Baroud and the head of the internal security forces Ashraf Rifi headed to Tripoli late Friday to witness the situation for themselves and to assess measures to restore calm.
Bab al-Tebbaneh is a stronghold of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority while the inhabitants of Jabal Mohsin are mainly supporters of the mainly Shiite opposition led by the powerful Hezbollah movement.
In Friday's violence, a rocket-propelled grenade slammed into an apartment building near a vegetable market, setting it ablaze, while another one hit a mosque in Bab al-Tebbaneh, reporters said
An initial ceasefire failed to take affect and a second was called for 6:00 pm (1500 GMT), with warnings that the army would take action against anyone violating the truce.
"The army has sent reinforcements to the battle zones to secure the ceasefire and the army command has promised us to firmly respond to any violation of the ceasefire," Sunni MP Mohammed Abdel Latif Kabbara of the parliamentary ruling majority said.
Shopkeepers in the area kept their stores shut on Friday because of the violence and people fled their homes near the front lines, reporters said.
Families who stayed behind took cover inside shops and underground garages as hundreds of gunmen took to the streets in full sight of the army which stood by without intervening, the correspondent added.
The Lebanese army deployed in force in the city in mid-July, pledging a tough response to any breach of security. Clashes between the two sides have killed 16 people and wounded more than 100 since June.
Alawites are an offshoot of Shiite Islam who revere Imam Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed. The Alawite adherents are mostly based in Syria which is ruled by President Bashar al-Assad, himself an Alawite.
Their numbers are small in Lebanon but they gained some political influence during an era of Syrian dominance that came to an end in 2005 after international pressure forced Damascus to withdraw troops from the country.
"Every time a sectarian rift breaks out in the north, it is used for political pressure... weapons are being used as a way of making political gains," said majority MP and former sports minister Ahmed Fatfat.
Friday's violence erupted after cabinet ministers decided on Thursday night to postpone talks on the issue of weapons held by Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite Muslim political movement and militia.
Shaar urges Suleiman to pay attention to Tripoli
Tripoli and northern Lebanon Mufti Malek al Shaar told LBC TV following a meeting at his office for the rival groups : "What has happened in Tripoli was not because of a dispute between the Sunnites and the Alawites , but it is a political explosion caused by the impasse over the drafting of the ministerial policy statement. I regret the fact that the army did not execute its responsibilities properly and I call on the president to pay more attention to what is happening in Tripoli "
Photo: Lebanese Sunni Muslim children, residents of Tripoli's Bab al-Tebbaneh neighborhood sit in the back of a truck as they flee the area of clashes.
Tags: alawites, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Source: Channel News Asia, Syria, Ya Libnan