Tripoli, Lebanon (AFP) -- At least 18 people were wounded early on Sunday during clashes between rival factions in northern Lebanon, a security official told AFP.

Fighting began at 04.15 A.M. (0115 GMT) in Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, northern sectors of the city of Tripoli.
The official said Sunni militants fought with a group of Alawites, a dissident branch of Shiism which however supports the Shiite Hezbollah opposition movement.
Clashes extended to the al-Qobbe zone in the east of Tripoli where, an AFP correspondent said, families could be seen fleeing the district.
At least one of the 15 people wounded in that area was so badly hurt that he was taken to the Islamic Hospital of Tripoli, the security official said.
Three other people were wounded in clashes at Jabal Mohsen but could not immediately be taken to hospital.
Bab al-Tebbaneh and al-Qobbe are mainly Sunni districts while residents of Jabal Mohsen are predominantly Alawites.
A military spokesman told AFP that ""the army is still deployed in the zone which separates the two sides and has not altered its position"", contradicting an earlier report saying soldiers have pulled out.
""The fighting has eased in intensity and we are working to contain them,"" the spokesman added.
Similar clashes took place in various regions early in May when 65 people were killed, stoking fears that the country, which endured 15 years of civil war up to 1990, was heading for a new conflict.
An accord reached in Doha on May 21 between the opposition and government ended an 18-month-long political crisis which sparked the clashes. The agreement resulted in the election of Michel Sleimane as president, ending a six-month vacuum in the top job.
Sunday's clashes occurred amid a continuing failure to set up a national unity government, which was envisaged by the Doha agreement.