About 4,000 Libyan students staged a protest at a university in the eastern city of Benghazi on Sunday against the deputy head of the National Transitional Council (NTC), Abdel Hafiz Ghoga.

An AFP correspondent at the University of Ghar Yunis said students chanted slogans against Ghoga, demanded his resignation from the NTC and condemned the arrest of 11 of their colleagues for manhandling him at the campus on Thursday.

Ghoga, who also serves as official spokesman for the NTC, has come under increasing opposition from residents of Benghazi, the cradle of last year's uprising which toppled Muammar Gaddafi.

They accuse him of opportunism because of his belated defection from the Gaddafi regime.

Ghoga was mobbed by students at the same university and had to flee after a tirade of abuse from the angry crowd.

The latest protest comes a day after protesters lobbed grenades at and stormed the offices of the NTC in Benghazi, accusing the council of marginalising injured former rebels in the new Libya.

They also demand more transparency in the NTC and say they oppose "opportunists" from joining the ruling body.

Saturday's attack was the first such violent act against the council which spearheaded the bloody revolt against Gaddafi and took full control of the country after the fall of his regime.