Red Crescent calls for truce in Benghazi

The Red Crescent in Libya has called for a ceasefire in the Eastern city of Benghazi to allow the evacuation of families trapped by street fighting between an alliance of militia groups and pro-government forces.

Banks, government offices, supermarkets and some hospitals were closed in Libya's second-largest city on the second day of the clashes.

War planes, which residents of the city say are Egyptian, continued to bomb suspected positions of the militias, who wish to implement Islamic law in the country.

The death toll from two days of fighting rose to at least 17 after four more bodies were brought to hospitals on Thursday.

ALJAZEERA