BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- A fragile ceasefire appears to be holding in Tripoli, Lebanon. It comes after three days of clashes between Sunni and Alawite gunmen.

The Lebanese army has deployed troops in the area that divides the Bab al-Ta-bbaneh district where Sunnis reside, and the Jabal Mohsen home to a small Alawite community loyal to ’s President Bashar al-Assad. The death toll from fighting has risen to 12.

The clashes are some of the heaviest since Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war. The sectarian tone of the fighting in Tripoli echoes the conflict in neighbouring Syria, where a mainly Sunni Muslim opposition has been battling government forces led by Assad’s Alawite minority.

(Source: CNTV.cn)