At least nine people have been killed and 55 injured in a protest over the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad in Libya.
Protesters tried to storm the Italian consulate in Benghazi, a consulate employee told Sky Italian television. There are no other details as yet.
Earlier an international media watchdog called for the release of seven journalists jailed across the Arab world for reprinting the cartoons.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said at least 12 journalists were being prosecuted in five countries over the affair, with seven already imprisoned in Algeria, Syria and Yemen.
"Whatever one thinks of the cartoons, or whether they should be published, it is absolutely unjustified to jail or prosecute journalists, threaten them with death or shut down newspapers for this reason," the Paris-based organisation said.
It said 13 publications had been closed temporarily or permanently in Algeria, Morocco, Jordan, Yemen, Malaysia and Indonesia for reprinting the caricatures.
The cartoons - one showing the Prophet Muhammad with a turban resembling a bomb - were first published in Denmark and then reprinted by newspapers in Europe and the Middle East.