Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel revealed Tuesday that the majority of fighters in the northern city of Tripoli are no longer following the orders of their leaders.

“Most of the gunmen in Tripoli are acting on their own and have gone out of the politicians’ willingness ... to end strife,” Charbel told reporters ahead of chairing a meeting of the Central Security Council.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri called on the army to assume its responsibilities and safeguard the northern city of Tripoli, expressing fear that a “wicked” plot is targeting the city and its residents.

“We completely reject the incidents in Tripoli,” Hariri said in a statement issued late on Monday.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has expressed alarm over the recent deterioration in the security situation in Lebanon that has seen the largest spillover from the more than two-year conflict in Syria.

“The Secretary-General is alarmed by developments in Lebanon, the spill-over effect from Syria,” his spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters at the U.N. headquarters on Monday.

The death toll in the renewed rounds of fighting in the northern city of Tripoli rose to five on Monday afternoon, after cautious calm in the morning.

"A man from the Zaizoun family was killed by sniper fire in Tripoli's al-Riva," MTV reported.

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri expressed concern on Monday that the turmoil in the region could spill over into Lebanon, stressing that his country is keen to preserve stability in the country.

“Saudi Arabia will always stand by Lebanon,” Asiri said in an interview with An Nahar newspaper.

At least fourteen people were wounded as armed clashes renewed on Sunday in the northern city of Tripoli after several days of relative calm.

State-run National News Agency said the fighting broke out at 7:00 p.m. between Jabal Mohsen and the neighboring areas of al-Amerkan and al-Baqqar before escalating and spreading to Bab al-Tabbaneh, Baal al-Darawish, Syria Street, al-Omari Street, Souk al-Qameh and Hariri Project.

General Prosecutor Judge Hatem Madi asked the Attorney General in the north Judge Omar Hamza to compose a judicial order to related authorities to provide him with recordings of statements that could be a threat to civil peace in Tripoli in a bid to take the necessary measures, the state-run National News Agency said on Wednesday.

The northern city of Tripoli has been witnessing severe clashes between the rival neighborhoods of the Bab al-Tabbaneh and the Jabal Mohsen that have left scores of casualties.

The March 14 General Secretariat noted on Wednesday that the northern city of Tripoli is paying the price of the absence of the Lebanese state, demanding that no red lines be imposed against it and the army imposing their authority in preserving security in the city.

It demanded in a statement after its weekly meeting: “The General Prosecution should immediately issue arrest warrants against one of the local allies of the Syrian regime, who appeared before the media and who threatened shell the city.”

Arab Democratic Party chief Rifaat Ali Eid accused on Tuesday President Michel Suleiman of failing to properly tackle the situation in the northern city of Tripoli.

He said during a press conference: “The unrest in the city will spread throughout Lebanon if the situation is not addressed.”

Caretaker Labor Minister Salim Jreissati condemned on Monday the employment of children in armed conflicts, especially in the northern city of Tripoli.

He said in a statement that such actions are criminal offenses in Lebanon and are punishable by law.