The conflict raging in Libya rippled across to Malta’s shores yesterday as Libyan students were allegedly threatened with their lives if they failed to demonstrate outside their Balzan embassy and pledge allegiance to their leader Muammar Gaddafi.

A tense situation took a dangerous turn when a stretch of Mdina Road, outside the Embassy, was transformed into an arena for pro-Gaddafi and anti-regime protestors to hurl abuse and hatred at each other.

By the end of it, seven people from the anti-Gaddafi camp were arrested, with one of them claiming to have been flung against a wall by a policeman.

Signs of an imminent clash were evident the night before when word spread that Ta’ Ġorni College students were being coerced to go out and protest against the allies’ attack on their country and in favour of their leader.

In reality, the group of some 60 pupils aged between 25 and 45, who have been in Malta since October on an IT scholarship, are said to be divided in their loyalties.

A source at the college said some 25 students claimed they were under orders from the Libyan authorities to go and protest outside the Libyan, French and British embassies, which were on alert.

The students, who receive over €1,000 a month in stipends, were warned not to forget they had families in Libya. They were also intimidated with threats of becoming a target for not supporting Col Gaddafi, once they returned home. These claims were corroborated by several different sources.

Framed pictures of Col Gaddafi line the college’s walls and the atmosphere in the building has been one of tension and fear in the past weeks, one source said.

At about 10.30 a.m. a coach packed with well-dressed Libyans was seen leaving the college, heading for the embassy, where they were joined by embassy employees who distributed posters of Col Gaddafi.

Around 35 self-proclaimed “anti-violence activists” waved the official Libyan flag and placards calling for an end to “international interference” as they chanted “Alla, Muammar u Libya biss” in Arabic.

The “pro-Gaddafi” group also chanted slogans against French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his “foreign counterparts”.

Sources who spoke to The Times claimed that “three-quarters of the people outside the embassy had been flown in from Libya to demonstrate in favour of Col Gaddafi”.

When approached, most of the enthusiastic “anti-violence” protesters could not communicate in English or Maltese. Others, who humbly stood to the side or leaned against the fence surrounding the embassy, remained mum, or said they did not wish to comment.

Meanwhile, some 50 anti-Gaddafi protesters had gathered on the other side of the road where a police contingent positioned itself between the rival groups. They claimed that those pro-regime had been threatened.

However, when confronted with this claim, the “anti-violence” protesters said they were neither in favour nor against Col Gaddafi but were against the killing of civilians by the international community.

A young woman denounced the threats, saying that whoever was uncomfortable with the protest had not turned up. “I’m doing this because I believe in the cause with all my heart. On the contrary, some of the anti-Gaddafi activists have aggressively threatened us,” she said.

Security at the embassy, named Dar el-hana, was reinforced with a double row of barbed wire on top of the iron railings fencing the building, while the main gate was secured with a thick chain.

Placards with slogans like “Stop killing innocent Libyans” and “We can solve our own international problems” bobbed above the “anti-violence” campaigners’ heads.

Holding on tightly to a photo of Col Gaddafi, a young man said they could never take a stand against “their Gaddafi” because the Colonel had “never attacked his own people”.

The director of the Arabic Culture Information Society, Sanaa el-Nahhal, said the international allies killed 94 women and children on Sunday when they bombed military bases in Tripoli. Comparing the demonstration to Malta’s political campaigns, she said back in Libya, both pro- and anti-Gaddafi people had opposed foreign intervention.

Across the street, anti-Gaddafi activists were waving Libyan monarchy flags and chanting along to hymns blaring out from their own car radios.

A middle-aged man said they waved the tricolour flag and sang the Libyan hymn because “not a single drop of blood was shed” before 1969, when Col Gaddafi, as a captain of the military, led a bloodless coup toppling King Idris.

“We’re Libyans, you’re not. You’re dogs. Gaddafi is a dictator and a coward who escaped from Tripoli,” the agitated protesters screamed at the top of their lungs.

Motorists driving along Mdina Road at the time of the protest joined in, pulling down their car windows and insulting Col Gaddafi and his supporters.

The police presence was reinforced with members of the Special Assignment Team and two Assistant Commissioners on the scene. With the help of police, the demonstrators tried to calm the more hot-headed among their respective groups.

Excluding a couple of incidents when protesters aimed eggs and rocks at those standing outside the embassy, the situation was kept under control until midday.

As the ranks of anti-Gaddafi protesters grew bigger, those in front of the embassy were summoned inside.

Things heated up and the anti-Gaddafi group started hurling insults at the other side. A couple of activists made their way up some trees from where they waved the Libyan three-coloured flag.

Suddenly, more than half of the anti-Gaddafi group barged towards the embassy and traffic came to a halt on both lanes as the police wrestled with protesters. Shouting “cowards” at their fellow activists, these same campaigners instigated other anti-Gaddafi activists who were reluctant to join the aggressive struggle against the policemen.

Some of those opposing the Gaddafi regime condemned the violence and left the place immediately.

Seven Libyan men were last night arraigned before Magistrate Marcelle Farrugia and charged with various offences related to yesterday’s disturbance near the Libyan Embassy in Balzan.

Six of the men were accused of violently resisting members of the police force, taking part in a group of 10 or more with the aim of breaking the law and with breaching public order. They were further charged with disobeying police orders and with persisting in breaking the law.

Apart from these charges, another Libyan was also accused on his own of inciting others to break the law and with threatening other persons with stones.