At least 11 people were killed and 38 injured in clashes between protesters and militiamen affiliated with Defence Ministry Saturday in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, a military spokesman said, dpa reported.
Clashes erupted after protesters gathered outside the offices of the Libya Shield brigade, demanding the disbanding of the group and calling on them to hand over their weapons, Colonel Abdulah al-Sheafi said, according to the Libyan News Agency LANA.
Libya's new rulers have been struggling to assert their authority and re-establish security in the North African country since Moamer Gaddafi's overthrow in 2011.
Benghazi, the birthplace of the anti-Gaddafi uprising, has seen several deadly clashes and blasts in recent months, as militias who joined the 2011 conflict have yet to lay down their weapons.
An explosion near a children's hospital in Benghazi killed three people in May, after armed groups besieged government buildings in Tripoli to call for officials linked to the regime of Gaddafi to be barred from government posts.
The US ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in September on the US consulate in the city of Benghazi in eastern Libya.