An Islamist militia was driven out of the city of Benghazi early on Saturday in a surge of protest against the armed groups that control large parts of Libya more than a year after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

A spokesman for Ansar al-Sharia said the group had evacuated its bases in Benghazi "to preserve security in the city".

In a dramatic sign of Libya's fragility, after sweeping through the base the crowd went on to attack a pro-government militia, believing them to be Islamists, triggering an armed response in which at least 11 people were killed and more than 60 wounded.

Ansar al-Sharia has been linked to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi last week in which the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans died, 

Hundreds of men waving swords and even a meat cleaver chanting "Libya, Libya", "No more al Qaeda!" and "The blood we shed for freedom shall not go in vain!"