At least 32 people have been killed and hundreds more injured in the Libyan capital after a peaceful anti-militia demonstration turned violent.

The violence in Tripoli broke out on Friday when gunmen opened fire on hundreds of protesters carrying white flags in the southern district of Gharghour where the Misrata militia has its headquarters.

The demonstrators demanded the militiamen’s eviction from Tripoli.

Reports say that armed men arrived at the scene, with the intention of attacking the militiamen’s compound.

Sadat al-Badri, president of Tripoli city council, stressed that the demonstrators were unarmed, adding, “It was a peaceful protest.”

“We're going to announce a general strike and launch a civil disobedience campaign until these militias leave,” he further said.

An unnamed official from Libya’s Health Ministry said at least 32 people were killed and 391 wounded in the violence. The death toll is expected to rise.

Following the incident, Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan condemned the killing of the protesters, saying, “The demonstration was peaceful and had been permitted by the Interior Ministry, and then the protesters were fired on when they entered the Gharghur district.”


“The exit of armed groups from Tripoli is not something up for debate but necessary and urgently needed,” Zeidan added.

Residents of Tripoli hold frequent demonstrations against the militias -- holdovers from the 2011 revolution that ousted Libya’s former dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.

A powerful force in the increasingly lawless North African country, the militias have been rejecting calls from a weak central government to leave the capital.

The former rebels refuse to lay down their arms, despite efforts by Zeidan’s government to impose law and order.