The ongoing clashes in Lebanon's troubled northern port city of Tripoli left 12 people wounded on Sunday, as sniper fire continues to target passers-by.

Fighting erupted in Tripoli between the rival Sunni Bab al- Tebbaneh neighborhood and the Alawite Jabal Mohsen, with sniper fire ringing out as militants lobbed grenades.

A security source told Xinhua that the army units deployed in the area are on high alert and responding to the source of fire.

Tripoli has witnessed frequent Syria-related violence pitting Sunnis from Bab al-Tabbaneh against members of the minority Alawite community, to which Syrian President Bashar Assad belongs.

Several waves of clashes in the city have left at least 100 people dead and more than 250 wounded since the eruption of the rebellion against Assad in March 2011.

In November 2013, the government announced a security plan placing the city under the control of the Lebanese army.