TRIPOLI/BEIRUT: Tensions ran high in Tripoli Friday night after at least 20 fighters from the city were killed in an ambush by the Syrian army in the town of Tal Kalakh near the border with Lebanon, a Lebanese security source told The Daily Star.

The men are from the Sunni neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and the Mankoubeen, added the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Most of the dead are from the Obeid and Srour families. The Lebanese Army deployed in several areas of the city in anticipation of a possible escalation after gunshots were fired from the Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh toward the Alawite Jabal Mohsen area.

The residents of the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood are staunch supporters of rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar Assad, while most residents of Jabal Mohsen are supporters of the regime. [Link]