Lebanese army takes over security in city of Tripoli amid Syria war spillover

The government has authorised the army to take charge of security in Lebanon's second-largest city of Tripoli for six months following deadly sectarian clashes stemming from the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

Many fear that the violence in Tripoli - only 30 kilometres from the Syrian border - could tip the rest of Lebanon back toward chaos. At least 12 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in the latest fighting that broke out on Saturday.

The decision on Monday by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati after a high-level security meeting at the presidential palace is meant to allay fears that the fighting was spreading out of control in the northern port city. But the army is weak and has been largely unable to stop the violence. Dozens of soldiers have been killed and wounded in Tripoli this year, often caught in the crossfire between rival gunmen.

Sectarian clashes linked to the war in Syria often flare in Tripoli between the supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Lebanon is divided into a patchwork of sects, including Sunnis, Shiites and Christians. Syria's rebels are dominated by their Sunni Muslim majority, and Lebanese Sunnis mostly support their brethren across the border, while Lebanese Shiites have staked their future with the Assad regime. The Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah has played a critical role in recent battlefield victories for forces loyal to Assad.

The fighting in Tripoli is concentrated between two impoverished, rival neighborhoods. The Bab Tabbaneh district is largely Sunni Muslim, as are most of the Syrian rebels fighting Assad's rule. Residents of Jabal Mohsen, a neighbourhood perched on a hill, are mostly from his Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.