Shelling kills 5 at Libya rally against UN peace deal — medics

BENGHAZI, Libya — At least five people were killed and 30 wounded Friday in Benghazi when rockets hit protesters who gathered in Libya's second city to demonstrate against a UN-proposed peace deal, medics said.

Hundreds of people had gathered in the centre of the eastern city to protest against a power-sharing agreement proposed by UN envoy Bernardino Leon.

A volley of shells hit the rally "killing at least five people and wounding 30 others", a medic said.

"The exact toll could be much higher as medics are still trying to collect human remains from the site".

The Benghazi Medical Centre said on its official Facebook page that it had received two bodies and treated 20 wounded.

Another hospital in the city, Al Jalaa, also said on Facebook that it had received three bodies and had treated 10 wounded.

There was no immediate word on who was behind the shelling.

Libya descended into chaos after the October 2011 ouster and killing of longtime dictator Muammar Qadhafi, with two governments vying for power and armed groups battling for control of its vast energy resources.

A militia alliance including Islamists overran Tripoli in August 2014, establishing a rival government and a parliament that forced the internationally recognised administration to flee to the country's remote east.

On October 8, after almost a year of arduous negotiations, Leon put forward a list of names to head a power-sharing government, but both sides rejected the proposed appointments.