Fierce fighting broke out again today in the port city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon between supporters of the Western-backed government and militants loyal to the Hezbollah-led opposition.
The clashes erupted in the densely populated Bab al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen neighbourhoods, forcing troops who had deployed in the area on Sunday to pull back, the security official said.
Violence in the predominantly Sunni Muslim city overnight had left one woman dead and several wounded.
There were no immediate reports of any casualties in the latest fighting.
The unrest comes amid a dangerous escalation in the country's prolonged political crisis last week that has left at least 47 people dead and nearly 200 wounded.
At least 36 people were killed in fierce clashes yesterday between Hezbollah gunmen and supporters of pro-government Druze leader Walid Jumblatt in mountains east of Beirut.
A precarious calm prevailed elsewhere in Lebanon, where rival leaders were preparing for talks with Arab League mediators seeking an end to the country's worst internal fighting since the 1975-90 civil war.
Iranian-backed Hezbollah and allied fighters have swept through Beirut and mountains to the east, routing outgunned loyalists of the US-backed government before handing control of the areas to the Lebanese army.
One source said the dead in Sunday's fighting included 14 Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah and allied fighters overran several posts of pro-Jumblatt gunmen in the Aley district before the Druze leader agreed to hand over his positions to the army.
