Hundreds of people angry at the arrest of a rights campaigner clashed with police and government supporters overnight in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, a witness and local media said.
The rioting was a rare show of unrest in Libya, which has been tightly controlled by leader Muammar Gadafy for over 40 years but has also felt the ripples from popular revolts in its neighbours Egypt and Tunisia.
Libyan state television said that rallies were being held across the oil exporting country today in support of Gaddafi, who is Africa's longest serving leader.
Reports from Benghazi, about 1,000km east of the Libyan capital, indicated the city was now calm but that overnight protesters armed with stones and petrol bombs had set fire to vehicles and fought with police.
The online edition of Libya's privately-owned Quryna newspaper, which is based in Benghazi, said 14 people were hurt in the clashes, including 10 police officers. It said none of the injuries was serious.
"Last night was a bad night," a Benghazi resident, who did not want to be identified, said.
"There were about 500 or 600 people involved. They went to the revolutionary committee (local government headquarters) in Sabri district, and they tried to go to the central revolutionary committee ... They threw stones," he said.
"It is calm now."
People in Benghazi have a history of distrust of Col Gadafy's rule. Many of his most ardent opponents living in exile, and many of the people jailed for membership of banned Islamist militant groups, are from the city.
According to the reports from Benghazi, the unrest was triggered by the arrest of a man called Fethi Tarbel, a human rights activist who worked with families of people detained in Tripoli's notorious Abu Salim jail.
The prison, used to hold government opponents and Islamist militants, was the scene of violent clashes in June 1996 in which 1,000 inmates were shot dead.
Last night, a crowd of people in Benghazi who had relatives in the prison marched on local government offices to demand Tarbel's release, Quryna newspaper reported.
It said a local official agreed to free him, but the protesters marched anyway to the city's Shajara square were they clashed with police and governemnt supporters.
The protesters later dispersed and the square was taken over by government supporters who rallied there until the early hours of the morning, Quryna reported.
In a possible concession to the protesters, Libya will free 110 members of banned militant group the Libyan Islamic Fighting group from Abu Salim prison later on Wednesday, a human rights activist said.
Dozens of men accused of membership of the group have been freed since last year, when its leaders renounced violence.
Libyan state television showed footage of a rally in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, of government supporters.
Participants chanted slogans accusing Qatar-based television news channel Al Jazeera - which has given wide coverage to revolts in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt - of broadcasting lies.
Reuters