Gunmen loyal to opposite sides in neighboring Syria’s civil war battled in the streets of northern Lebanon on Wednesday, December 5, and the death toll from two days of fighting was at least five killed and 45 wounded, the Associated Press reported. The Lebanese army fanned out in the city of Tripoli to calm the fighting, with soldiers patrolling the streets in armored personnel carriers and manning checkpoints. Authorities closed major roads because of sniper fire. Lebanon, a country plagued by decades of strife, has been on edge since the uprising in Syria began, and deadly clashes between pro- and anti-Assad Lebanese groups have erupted on several occasions. Tensions in Tripoli have been mounting since last week, when reports emerged that at least a dozen Lebanese Sunni fighters were killed inside Syria, apparently after they joined the rebellion against Assad.