TRIPOLI, May 17, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A police officer was killed in an "attempted assault" on the office of Libya's internationally recognised premier, the government said Friday, as protesters took to the streets to demand his ouster.

The officer was "targeted while securing the prime minister's office building", the Government of National Unity said in a statement.

"He was shot by unknown attackers and succumbed to his injuries," the statement said.

The government said it had "foiled an attempt to storm the building by a group mixed with protesters" who tried to set it on fire with Molotov cocktails.

Video footage that has not been verified by AFP showed young people running and taking cover behind a low wall near the government headquarters to the sound of automatic gunfire.

Earlier Friday, thousands of protesters had gathered in Tripoli to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah.

Ahead of the demonstration, the UN Support Mission in Libya, UNSMIL, had underlined "citizens' right to peaceful protest" and warned against "any escalation of violence".

Relative calm had returned to Tripoli earlier Friday after days of deadly fighting between armed groups, but the situation remains highly volatile.

After the demonstration, local media reported the resignation of six ministers and deputy ministers from the government, two of whom confirmed their departure in a video.

Libya is split between the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, led by Dbeibah, and a rival administration in the east controlled by the family of military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

The country has remained deeply divided since the 2011 NATO-backed revolt that toppled and killed longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi.