Italy suspended activity at its consulate in Benghazi and withdrew staff for security reasons yesterday after a gun attack on its consul at the weekend, which underlined the precarious security situation in the North African state.

Unidentified gunmen opened fire on Guido De Sanctis’s heavily armoured car in Benghazi, Libya’s second city, on Saturday.

The diplomat was unhurt but the attack was a reminder of the September 11 attack on the US mission there that killed the ambassador and three other American personnel.

The Foreign Ministry said “attempts to destabilise” Libya showed that the international community needed to intensify its support for the Government in Tripoli.

At least one police officer was wounded when attackers threw a hand grenade at a patrol car in Benghazi on Monday in the latest in a series of assaults on security officials, the force said.

The city in eastern Libya was the seat of the uprising that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi more than a year ago and the Government has struggled to control rival armed factions there ever since.

The police car was parking near a crossroads close to the city centre when it came under attack from a passing car, a police source said. “A hand grenade was thrown from that car close to the police car and at least one person was injured,” the source said.

Benghazi, like much of Libya, is awash with weapons and the city has also seen recent attacks on British, Red Cross and United Nations interests.

To keep a degree of order, Libya’s Government relies on numerous militias made up of thousands of Libyans who took up arms against Gaddafi.

The groups provide what passes for official security but also pose a significant threat to it.

In November, the city’s police chief was shot dead and there have been several attacks on officers.

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