Libyan President Mohamed Magarief on Friday (December 21st) joined the chorus of national leaders condemning recent violence in Benghazi, Libya Herald reported.

The General National Congress (GNC) chief said that the latest Benghazi clashes were "not just a cause for sadness and sorrow, but a cause for condemnation and criticism in the strongest possible terms".

"We in the GNC and the interim government, with the permission of God, will stand in the face of any aggression against the state," Magarief said, adding that Benghazi "has suffered enough oppression, tyranny, injustice, deprivation, marginalisation, neglect and tyranny over the last four decades".

In a statement after the police post attack, Grand Mufti Sadeq al-Ghariani said Libyans "must not expose their homeland, their city and families to risk, ruin and destruction, they must not awaken discord, which, if ignited, would leave nothing but devastation and destruction".