Gunmen fire on Lebanese army patrol
Lebanese forces detained more than 10 people on Saturday after gunnmen fired at an army patrol near a Palestinian refugee camp in the north of the country, a security official said.
The attack which caused no casualties took place in Qobbeh, a predominantly Sunni district on the northeastern edge of the port city of Tripoli, the official said.
"There was an exchange of fire, but there were no injuries," he said adding that 10 people were arrested after the incident near the Palestinian refugee camp of Beddawi.
More people were detained as about 100 men and boys from the area took to the streets, burning tyres and blocking off roads, in protest at the initial arrests, an AFP correspondent said.
The army intervened to reopen the roads, another security official said, adding that all those detained were released, apart from three people suspected of involvement in the shoot-out.
Local storeowners shut down early and the unrest led to an increased army deployment in the neighbourhood.
Security concerns have mounted in Lebanon in the face of sporadic attacks on army posts and sectarian clashes between opponents and supporters of the Western-backed ruling majority.
On Thursday, the army defused a roadside bomb near a military base north of Tripoli and last month a soldier was killed in a blast at an army intelligence base in Abdeh, also in north Lebanon.
The latest violence comes as efforts to form a new national unity government are deadlocked over key portfolios, including the defence and interior ministries, despite an agreement last month by rival factions.