Six soldiers were killed and five injured in clashes between Libyan special forces and armed protesters outside a special forces base in the eastern city of Benghazi yesterday, military officials said.

Residents said heavy gunfire and explosions were heard.

“The clashes lasted from 2am until 6am but are over now,” Colonel Mohammed Sharif, of the special forces in Benghazi, told Reuters. He said six of his troops had been killed and another military official said five other soldiers were wounded.

It was not immediately clear who the protesters were and if any had been killed. Last week at least 31 people were killed and 100 injured in clashes between armed protesters, eventually backed by special forces, and a militia in the city. The protesters had been demanding the disbanding of independent militias, and clashed with one of them – the Libya Shield brigade, which fought to oust former leader Muammar Gaddafi and now says it is aligned with the defence ministry.

Several mosques condemned the protest against Libya Shield at Friday prayers and that may have spurred a reaction among the militia’s supporters, a senior defence ministry source said.

Libya Shield commanders were not immediately reachable for comment.