Updated

Lebanese police say sectarian clashes linked to the civil war in neighboring Syria have killed at least three people overnight in the northern city of Tripoli.

Violence related to Syria's conflict frequently breaks out between two impoverished rival neighborhoods in Tripoli, one dominated by Sunni Muslims and the other by members of Syrian President Bashar Assad's Alawite sect.

Police in Tripoli say the deaths overnight raise the total number of people killed in the city since the latest round of fighting began on March 14 to 20.

More than 150 people have been wounded in fighting in the city so far.

Gun battles erupted in Tripoli again on Friday, with gunmen firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.