The Islamic National Gathering agreed on Wednesday to a ceasefire in the clashes of the northern city of Tripoli that came into effect as of 5:30 p.m., but the fragile truce was shaken by intermittent gunfire that left two people dead and more than 10 wounded.

The initiative was supported by Prime Minister Najib Miqati and granted the army the right to respond to the sources of gunfire.

The Army Command stressed on Wednesday that it had not withdrawn from the areas that witnessed clashes in the northern city of Tripoli, saying that it is implementing a complete military plan that will help confront those violating security.

It said in a statement: “Politicians, regardless of their affiliations and differences, must refrain from fueling strife in Tripoli and stop meddling in the developments in the city.”

France strongly condemned on Wednesday the clashes that erupted in the northern city of Tripoli between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.

The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “The clashes are the result of historic disputes that have only been highlighted due to the developments in Syria.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on Wednesday the importance of all concerned factions to support the army in its duties to maintain stability in Lebanon in light of the clashes in the northern city of Tripoli and the series of kidnappings that started last week.

His visitors quoted him as saying: “No political party can consider itself not responsible for the recent developments or their repercussions.”

The death toll of gunbattles that have been raging in the northern port city of Tripoli since Monday rose to seven, the state-run National News Agency reported on Wednesday.

NNA said there were heavy clashes between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen overnight during which B7 and Energa rockets were used.

The United State has expressed deep concern over the violence in the northern city of Tripoli and the kidnappings spree of Syrian and Turkish nationals across Lebanon.

“We are very concerned about this violence and the spillover effect from what’s going on in Syria, and particularly the latest violence in Tripoli,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday.

Speaker Nabih Berri expressed anger on Wednesday over the chaotic situation in Lebanon, stressing that the airport road is a “red line,” local newspapers reported.

“The hand of whoever blocks the airport road will be cut,” Berri told As Safir newspaper.

The Islamic personalities of the northern city of Tripoli announced on Tuesday that an agreement had been reached with the residents of Bab al-Tabbaneh to implement an immediate ceasefire in the clashes that had been raging with the Jabal Mohsen neighborhood since Monday.

MP Mohammed Kabbara also condemned after the meeting the “army’s random gunshots at some innocents.”

At least four people were killed and dozens others wounded, including an army officer and four troops, as clashes and sniper fire renewed on Tuesday in the rival Tripoli districts of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh.

"The clashes are continuing," an army spokesman said in the early evening, while the military said in a statement that soldiers were "chasing gunmen and have seized a quantity of guns, bombs and ammunition."

Twin car bomb blasts killed two people at dawn on Sunday in the Libyan capital, security officials said, blaming loyalists of now slain dictator Moammar Gadhafi for the attacks.

Tripoli's security chief Colonel Mahmud al-Sherif told Agence France Presse the bombs were detonated by remote control and struck near a military academy and the interior ministry.