Beirut - Clashes raged in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli Wednesday between followers of the ruling minority and the majority led by Hezbollah, leaving at least two people dead and more than 39 wounded, according to police and hospital records. 

Police reports said four Lebanese soldiers and a police officer were also wounded by sniper fire. 

The fatalities were identified as Youssef Trabolsi, who was shot in the head by a sniper's bullet, and Layla al-Shami, who passed away from a heart attack suffered when a shell scored a direct hit on her apartment. 

The clashes, in which rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers and machine guns were used, pitted fighters in the Baal Mohsen district against neighboring Bab Tabbaneh. 

Smoke billowed from apartment buildings in Bab Tabbaneh hit by RPGs as fire engines and ambulances, sirens wailing, rushed to combat the blaze and evacuate casualties. 

Sniper fire from roof-tops in Baal Mohsen blocked traffic across several main streets in Tripoli. 

Army and police units were preparing for redeployment in the contested neighborhoods to contain the fighting. 

Last month, similar clashes killed more than four people and wounded 40 others. 

The clashes raged despite an agreement reached in May by rival Lebanese leaders in Qatar to end the country's political crisis. 

As part of the Doha agreement, the Western-backed prime minister, Fouad Seniora, is attempting to form a government of national unity with opposition parties. 

On Saturday he said he was confident the new administration would be formed soon. 

Delays in the formation of a national unity government, as stipulated in May's accord, have raised fears of a further deterioration in the security situation. (dpa)