BEIRUT: Prime Minister Najib Mikati has ordered the Lebanese Army to take all necessary measures to end the violent clashes in Tripoli, in which two have been killed and seven wounded, as the army warned that it would open fire on armed residents if they do not clear the streets.

“The army has clear and strict orders to take the necessary measure to end the clashes ... whoever thinks they are stronger than the law and the country is mistaken," Mikati said at a news conference in his hometown.

Mikati also said that the army would not be lenient with any groups involved in the conflict, adding that time has come for Tripoli to stop paying a high price for differences between its people.

“We will not allow anyone to harm this city in any shape or form," Mikati said.

Two people were killed and seven wounded as clashes broke out at a demonstration in Tripoli's Bab al-Tabbeneh district Friday in support of Syrian protesters, security sources told The Daily Star.

The violence broke out between residents of the mainly Sunni Bab al-Tabbeneh district and the predominantly Alawite Jabel Mohsen nieghborhood.

One of the dead was an off-duty member of the Lebanese Army.

Concussion grenades were thrown into the crowd and machine-gun fire was being used, according the sources.

The rival neighbourhoods often clash, but this incident comes during heightened tension over the popular unrest against Syria's Assad across the border.

The Lebanese Army, which was deployed to the area ahead of the planned protest which began at 2:30 p.m., has increased its presence in both areas following the clashes. A special commandoes army unit arrived on the scene around 6:30 p.m.

President Michel Sleiman is following up on the security situation in the north with the Minister of Defense Fayez Ghosn, Interior Minister Marwen Charbel and Lebanese Army Chief Jean Kahwaji.

Lebanon's northern border has already seen an influx of Syrians who had escaped a military assault in the border village of Tall Kalakh last month.