Hundreds of Libyans have converged on a main square in Benghazi in response to a call from the military to hand over their weapons, some driving in with armored personnel carriers, vehicles with mounted anti-aircraft guns and hundreds of rocket launchers.
A similar event was held in Tripoli Saturday. The call by the Libyan chiefs of staff was promoted on a private TV station earlier this month. But the call may have gained traction in the wake of the attack against the U.S. consulate in Benghazi in which the American ambassador and three staffers were killed. The attack was followed by a popular uproar against armed militias which have increasingly challenged government authorities.
The government had previously estimated that over 200,000 people in Libya are armed.
