SIDON, Lebanon - Relatives of the bride and friends of the groom drew knives on each other, then pistols and a gunfight broke out during a wedding party in a Palestinian refugee camp that left five wounded, security officials said Friday.

The newlyweds, who came from al-Othman and al-Kamel clans, were whisked away unharmed from the Thursday night party, the security officials said. Their full names were not available.

It was not clear what sparked the fight, but newspaper reports said the two sides had engaged in a similar incident at a previous wedding party some time ago. It appeared to be a tribal clash.

"First there was a brawl. Then some of them drew knives and finally pistols, and began shooting at each other," one official said of the fight at the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp in Southe Lebanon.

Five people were wounded, one of them seriously, the officials said.

Ein el-Hilweh, on the southern edge of this southern Lebanese port city 45 kilometers,(27 miles) from Beirut, is the largest of 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. It has a population of 75,000.

Bomb attacks and vendetta killings are frequent among the various Palestinian guerrillas factions that have offices in the camp. The camp is off-limits to Lebanese army and security forces, though the army mans checkpoints at the entrances. (AP)