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Libyans torch Italian consulate; 10 killed
Libyans protesting Prophet cartoons set Italian consulate on fire in Benghazi in a riot that killed at least 10 people.
Libyans protesting Prophet Mohammad cartoons set afire Italian consulate in Benghazi in a riot that killed at least 10 people, an Italian diplomat said.
Libyan security officials said 11 people were killed or wounded during the five-hour riot on Friday when police firing bullets and tear gas tried to contain more than 1,000 demonstrators hurling rocks and bottles.
The casualties included police officers, but the officials declined to say how many people had died.
Italian diplomat Domenico Bellantone said between 10 and 11 people had died, and all were Libyan - either police or protesters.
He spoke after the Libyan interior minister had briefed the Italian ambassador to Tripoli on the riot.
Bellantone stressed the death toll was not certain. Earlier, Italian consular official in Benghazi, Antonio Simoes-Concalves, had said nine protesters were killed and several more wounded. Libya's second biggest city, Benghazi is 640 kilometres east of Tripoli.
The riot appeared to be a reaction to Italian Cabinet Minister Roberto Calderoli, who said this week he would wear a T-shirt printed with the cartoons that have provoked protests. His remark was widely published in Libya.
Calderoli actually wore the T-shirt underneath a suit on Friday.
Hours later, after the riot, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi asked for Calderoli's resignation, the ANSA news agency reported.
After clashing with police outside the consulate, rioters managed to charge into the compound and set fire to the first floor of the building, the Italian Foreign Ministry said.
