(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) Libyan Prime Minister has demanded all armed militias "without exception" to leave Tripoli after militiamen opened fire on peaceful protesters in the capital killing at least 27 people and wounding 235. "The existence of weapons outside the army and police is dangerous," Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said in a speech delivered shortly after the clashes. "All armed militias need to leave Tripoli, without exception."
The Misrata militia reportedly opened fire with heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades at protesters as they approached its headquarters in the Gharghour district. Thousands of protesters gathered in the Libyan capital on Friday, calling to intensify the security presence and end the militias' rule established in 2011, after the uprising that ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Violence erupted when gunmen fired at hundreds of demonstrators carrying white flags from inside villas in the southern Tripoli district of Gharghour where the Misrata militia has its headquarters. The shooting sparked a violent response in which armed men assaulted the villas and set them on fire.
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