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Tripoli: Gunmen from rival groups exchanged gun fire and grenade fire on Friday in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli, killing three people and wounding 17 others.
Fighting between the Sunni Muslim Bab Tibbaneh and the Alawite Jabal Mohsen districts of Tripoli also caused residents to flee the area.
The Tripoli fighting has cast doubt over a deal that ended a bitter political conflict between Lebanon's Sunni-led governing coalition and an opposition alliance led by Shiite Hezbollah, which is close to Alawite groups in Tripoli.
The rival alliances formed a national unity government on July 11 after weeks of disputes. They are now at odds over the government's policy statement, with Hezbollah's weapons at the heart of the dispute.
Hezbollah used its arms to impose its terms for an end to the political conflict in May by briefly taking over Beirut and routing supporters of the anti-Damascus governing coalition.
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