Protesters plan 'day of rage' as clashes break out in Libyan city

About 200 anti-government protesters demanding the release of a human rights activist clashed with police on Wednesday in Libya's coastal city of Benghazi, according to reports.

Doha-based Al Jazeera channel said demonstrators gathered in front of police headquarters and chanted slogans against the corrupt rulers of the country.

Meanwhile, drawing inspiration from the massive popular protests in Tunisia and Egypt, the anti-government factions in Libya called on people to observe Thursday as a Day of Rage.

Libyan ruler Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who has been in power for the last 41 years, is one of the longest-serving heads of states in the world.

According to Al Jazeera, the immediate provocation of the sudden breakout of rare protests in Libya was the arrest of human rights lawyer Fathi Terbil, who was later released by the authorities.

Terbil was also the official spokesman of the families of around twelve-hundred prisoners who were killed in the Abu Slim prison massacre in 1996. The prisoners had objected to their inhumane conditions inside the prison.

The channel has also reported that a group of prominent Libyans, including political activists, lawyers, students, and government officials have demanded the resignation of Gaddafi.

However, there have also been demonstrations in support of the long-serving ruler. There were demonstrations in support of long-time Libyan Moammar Gadhafi in several cities, including Benghazi, on Wednesday, the CNN report said, quoting the country's state news agency.