Tensions mount in Libya after deadly unrest

Local officials called for civil disobedience including strikes for three days from in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi yesterday after deadly clashes between radical Islamist fighters and the army.
The call issued by Benghazi's city council came as defence ministry officials, according to a source, were in talks with jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia to provide its fighters a safe passage out of the city on condition they leave their weapons behind.
For several hours on Monday the army clashed with the jihadists after one of its patrols was attacked near the headquarters of Ansar al-Sharia, a group blamed for the killing of the US ambassador in 2012.
The health ministry said seven people were killed in the fighting and around 50 wounded, revising an earlier toll of eight dead.
The fighting subsided in the afternoon and later the army deployed across Benghazi, taking control of key roads, an AFP correspondent reported.
Benghazi was the cradle of the 2011 uprising during which NATO-backed rebels toppled and then killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.