Anti-government protests spread to Libya

Nicosia: Hundreds of Libyan protesters have taken to the streets of the country's second largest city to demand the government's ouster in the first sign that the region's unrest has spread to the North African Arab nation.

Fourteen people were injured in clashes in Benghazi, according to a Libyan newspaper.

Witnesses said that protesters in the port city of Benghazi chanted slogans on Wednesday demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Baghdadi Al Mahmoudi.

There were no calls, however, for longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi to step down.

As in the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings, Libyans are using social networking websites like Facebook to call for a day of protests on Thursday.

There was no word of Wednesday's unrest on Libya's official news agency. It said only that supporters of Gaddafi were demonstrating in the capital, in Benghazi and in other cities.