Thousands rally in support of Haftar in Tripoli, Benghazi

Thousands rallied Friday in Libya's two main cities to support renegade general Khalifa Haftar, who has been pressing an offensive against militias in the east of the country for two weeks.

The crowds chanted slogans criticising new Prime Minister Ahmed Miitig, whose cabinet is already mired in a political standoff with its predecessor.

Haftar, head of the offensive, launched his assault on fighters in the eastern city of Benghazi on 16 May, and has won the support of units from the regular army and air force, as well as some militias who fought to oust Moamer Gaddafi in 2011.

The retired general has said he aims to wipe out "terrorism" in the eastern city, which has been a hotbed of Islamist militancy since uprising, and last week he said the country had become a "terrorist hub."

Authorities have accused Haftar of launching a coup, but he said the people had given him a "mandate" for the operation.

In Benghazi, hundreds of people gathered outside the Tibesti Hotel, where they chanted slogans in support of Haftar's offensive and against terrorism.

Since 2011, dozens of members of the security forces have been gunned down or killed in bomb blasts around Benghazi. No group has claimed the attacks, but the violence has been blamed on Islamists who control swathes of the Mediterranean city.

Also in Martyrs Square of the capital Tripoli, hundreds more rallied amid tight security to show their backing for Haftar and to voice their disapproval for Miitig's government.

Demonstrators carried a mock coffin that bore the slogan "Miitig's government," "the GNC" and "Ansar al-Sharia."

The General National Congress (GNC) is the Islamist-dominated interim parliament that elected Miitig amid claims of improprieties after Abdullah al-Thani resigned last month. Ansar al-Sharia is a militia based in Benghazi classified by Washington as a terrorist organisation.

Others chanted "free Libya, Miitig out," "Libya is not Kandahar," while other banners read "the people and the army, we are fighting terrorism," or "yes to a civil state."

Political standoff

Several hundred metres away in the capital's Algeria Square, dozens of Islamists held a rival demonstration, denouncing what they called Haftar's "coup d'etat" and stressing their "support for the democratic process."

A city that was ultra-safe during Gaddafi's rule has become a nightmare for residents, who are constantly on tenterhooks for fear new fighting will erupt between rival former militias, many of which are from cities outside Tripoli.

"Not for one moment did we imagine that those who liberated the country would become our oppressors and deprive people of any security," said Meftah, a 50-year-old teacher who declined to give his surname.

"People are frightened to go out after dark and our children live in terror of the night-time bombings and shootings," he said.

Many of the militias in the city back either premier Miitig's new government or Thani's outgoing government, which is refusing to hand over power.

Miitig was elected prime minister in a chaotic GNC session, but his critics have labelled that illegal.

He is theoretically due to lead the country until Libyans hold new parliamentary elections on June 25.

The GNC was elected in July 2012, in Libya's first ever-free polls. But its legitimacy was challenged after it unilaterally prolonged its mandate, due to have expired February, until December.

Under the pressure of street protests, it announced new elections.