Libyan protesters take to streets after demo deaths

BBC radio, quoting an eyewitness, said protesters against Muammar Gaddafi's four decade-long rule had clashed with security forces firing guns. Doctors had counted the bodies of 10 people.

In the nearby eastern town of Al Bayda, where local sources told Reuters earlier that five people had been killed, people were bringing tents to camp out on the streets, the BBC reported.

Funerals of those killed were expected in both Benghazi and Al Bayda on Friday. Such funerals could act as a catalyst for further protests.

On Thursday deadly clashes broke out in several towns after the opposition called for protests in a rare show of defiance inspired by uprisings in other Arab states and the toppling of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Tunisia's Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch said that according to its sources inside the country, Libyan security forces had killed at least 24 people in crackdowns on protests on Wednesday and Thursday.

"Libyans should not have to risk their lives to make a stand for their rights as human beings," the group said in a statement.

Tight controls on media and communications in Libya made it difficult to assess the extent of the violence, but on Friday unverified reports on social network sites said up to 50 people had died.

Political analysts say Libya oil wealth should give the government the capacity to smooth over social problems and reduce the risk of an Egypt-style revolt.

Gaddafi's opponents say they want political freedoms, respect for human rights and an end to corruption. Gaddafi says Libyans enjoy true democracy.

Pro-government supporters also were out on the streets early on Friday, according to CNN. The broadcaster said images transmitted on Libyan state television labelled "live" showed men chanting slogans in support of Gaddafi.

The pro-Gaddafi crowd was seen singing as it surrounded his limousine as it crept along a road in the capital packed with people carrying his portrait. Fireworks lit up the night sky.

The worst clashes on Thursday appeared to have taken place in the eastern Cyrenaica region centred on Benghazi, where support for Gaddafi has historically been weaker than in other parts of the country.

Earlier, a resident in Al Bayda told Reuters by telephone: "The situation is still complicated ... The young people do not want to listen to what the elders say."

Phone connections to the town, which is 200 km from Benghazi, were not working on Thursday evening and officials were barring journalists from flying to Benghazi from Tripoli.

Libya's Quryna newspaper reported the regional security chief had been removed from his post over the deaths of protesters in Al Bayda. Rights watchdog Amnesty International said security forces opened fire on protesters in Al Bayda, killing a man it named as Nacer Miftah Gout'ani.

(Writing by Matthew Jones and Christian Lowe)