Fighting broke out between armed groups of Salafists and supporters of Arab Movement leader Shaker al-Berjawi around 3 a.m. on Sunday near the Sports City in southern Beirut after an argument escalated into an armed confrontation, the Lebanese Daily Star reported.
"There was a personal dispute at first, but then Future supporters attacked the house of an Arab Movement member and tried to storm the headquarters," al-Berjawi said.
Security forces identified the individual who was killed as Khalil Nabil, and said that fighting had renewed around 10 a.m. after a brief lull following the deployment of army units in the area, the Daily Star reported.
Al-Berjawi said that the armed groups were affiliated with the Future party, which is led by Saad Hariri.
Al-Berjawi's party is pro-Syria while both Future party and Salafist movements in Lebanon are strongly anti-Syria.
Clashes related to the ongoing foreign-hatched conflict in Syria have broken out regularly in Lebanon in recent years, but the majority of such fighting has occurred in the northern city of Tripoli.
Political parties are deeply polarized on pro- and anti-Syrian lines, and various groups have sent militants and resources to both sides of the conflict.
NTJ/SHI