More than 10 people have been arrested after gunmen fired at a Lebanese army patrol near the Palestinian refugee camp of Beddawi in north Lebanon.

The attack on Saturday took place in Qobbeh, a predominantly Sunni district on the northeastern edge of the port city of Tripoli. No casualties were reported.

"There was an exchange of fire, but there were no injuries," a security official said, adding that 10 people were arrested after the incident near the Beddawi camp.

More people were detained as about 100 men and boys from the area took to the streets, burning tires and blocking off roads, in protest at the initial arrests, an AFP correspondent said.

The army intervened to reopen the roads, one security official said, adding that all those detained were released, apart from three people suspected of involvement in the shootout.

Local storeowners shut down early and the unrest led to an increased army deployment in the neighborhood.

Security concerns have mounted in Lebanon in the face of sporadic attacks on army posts and sectarian clashes between opponents and supporters of the government.

On Thursday, the army defused a roadside bomb near a military base north of Tripoli and last month a soldier was killed in a blast at an army intelligence base in Abdeh, also in north Lebanon.

The latest violence comes as efforts to form a new national unity government are deadlocked over key portfolios, including the defense and interior ministries, despite an agreement in Doha last month by rival factions.(Naharnet-AFP)