Updated | 37 dead in Libya anti-militia protest

Members of a Tripoli-based militia shot and killed at least 37 protesters and wounded hundreds more during a peaceful demonstration calling for the group to leave the Libyan capital.

The protesters had marched to the headquarters of the Misrata militia to demand that it leave Tripoli.

Hours after the incident, armed men returned to storm the compound, where militiamen are still holed up. Protesters went home to gather weapons and later returned to the site of the attack, suggesting more bloodshed was possible.

Nine of the dead had been taken to Tripoli Medical Centre when 25 people were being treated for their injuries.  In Tripoli Central Hospital, there were were 13 dead and more than a hundred wounded and in Bu Sleem Hospital there were 15 dead and again more than a hundred wounded.

It is reported that other wounded have been taken to the Oil Clinic and other private facilities.

The deaths in the capital have shocked the country and demonstrators took to the streets of Tobruk to protest at the killings in Tripoli.

Further demonstrations in solidarity with the capital are expected on Saturday.

In Misrata, however, the local TV station, Misrata Channel, claimed that "there were some people from Tawergha among the protesters holding the 'green flag' (the flag of the Gaddafi regime) and they were behind the start of the shooting".

The demonstration on Friday followed calls by imams during weekly Muslim prayers for protests against armed groups and former fighters who refuse to disarm and who pose a challenge to the central government two years after the fall of Mouammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising.

Hundreds of people carrying white flags in a sign of peace, as well as the national flag, and singing the national anthem, had assembled in the capital's Meliana Square.

The clashes erupted after hundreds of Tripoli residents took to the streets in what was to have been peaceful protests against the presence of armed groups in Tripoli, following last week's clashes between Tripoli and Misrata armed groups.

Those planning the demonstration had said they would evict armed brigades, understood to be mainly from Misrata, in the Ghargour area if they had not left voluntarily by today.

There are unconfirmed reports that at least 37 people have died and around 400 seriously injured in fighting that started at around 3 pm and was ongoing at 7pm.

"The situation here is very bad," one local resident told the Libya Herald. "I have seen about ten people shot and I am sure some of them are dead." He added that he had tried to leave the area but was unable to do so because the fighting was so heavy.

"Every type of weapon is being used here," he said.

Military jets have been heard flying overhead and there are unconfirmed reports that they have been fired at from the ground.

Protestors set off from outside Al-Quds Mosque carrying white and Libyan flags. However, what was to have been a peaceful protest turned into violent clashes after Ghargour militias allegedly opened fire on protestors.

The commander of the Misrata militia at Ghargour, Taha Bashaga, speaking on television, claimed that protestors were armed and opened fire first. He insisted that the Misrata brigades would not leave Tripoli until the country had a constitution. "We will leave only in our coffins," he said.

Reports from local hospitals describe the situation as chaotic. One hospital was reported to be treating more than 50 injured people and urgently calling for people to donate blood.

Sporadic gunfire and explosions continue to be heard in other areas of Tripoli.

The Libyan government has been struggling to contain numerous militias who control many parts of the country.

Last month, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was briefly seized by a militia group in Tripoli.

Two years after the overthrow of Col Muammar Gaddafi, Libya still has no constitution and divisions between secular and Islamist forces have paralysed parliament.