A Lebanese army officer was shot dead in the country’s second city of Tripoli during fighting between rival sects on Thursday.

A Lebanese army officer was shot dead in the country's second city of Tripoli during fighting between rival sects on Thursday, a security source and state media said.

Lebanon's National News Agency said masked men on a motorcycle had opened fire on the officer, Fadi al-Jbaili, at around 6:30 a.m. local time (0430 GMT), killing him instantly.

Fighting between Tripoli's rivals has killed at least 28 people over the last two weeks.

Long-running tensions between the two sects have been made worse by the three-year-old conflict in neighboring Syria, where armed mercenaries are fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

Earlier on Wednesday, at least three people were killed in fighting in the northern coastal city, including an 11-year-old boy.

Another officer in Lebanon's security forces escaped without injury when gunmen opened fire on him, the National News agency reported on Thursday.