Lebanon: Woman killed in factional clashes between

A 30-year-old woman was killed and four more people were wounded in clashes that broke out on Sunday evening in the Aisha Bakkar neighborhood, in the west of Beirut. Lebanese and Arab media reported that that Sunni supporters of Lebanon's prime minister-designate Saad Hariri and Shiite rivals loyal to the Hizbullah-allied parliament speaker Nabih Berri.

According to reports both camps are using small arms fire, automatic rifles, mortars and rockets. The Lebanese Army ordered troops into the area to restore order and ensure weapons are kept off the street. According to reports at least one of those wounded in a soldier.

What sparked the clashes is unclear at present time, although Al-Mustaqbal, which is led by Hariri, claims that a reporter belonging to its news network was attacked by suspicious persons.

Earlier in the day Hariri held talks with his predecessors as part of the complex process of forming a government that can unify the deeply divided country.

In May 2008, heavy clashes erupted between the same rival factions. Hizbullah along with Berri's Amal movement later swept through Sunni neighborhoods to briefly seize control. A political agreement that called for a national unity government and the June 7 parliamentary elections restored peace for about a year.

Hariri was named Saturday by Lebanon's president to become the next prime minister after his pro-Western coalition defeated a Hizbullah-backed alliance in the election. All major factions have since pledged to turn a new page.

Sunday's gunfight is not expected to derail the reconciliation efforts, but it showed once again how tensions could quickly spill over onto the streets.

Reuters contributed to this report