Cradle of Libya revolt seeks autonomy

(Reuters) - It is the cradle of Libya's revolution: the Benghazi square where protesters just over a year ago first demanded the fall of Muammar Gaddafi and waved the black, green and red flag that came to symbolize their rebellion.

Last month demonstrators were back at the same spot, now part of a Libya free of Gaddafi. This time they also waved another flag, with a white star and crescent etched on a black background - the flag of eastern Libya.

This flag has become the banner of a push for regional autonomy that has enraged Libya's new leadership and raised questions about whether the country, focus of huge optimism after it forced out Gaddafi, can hold together now he has gone.

Eastern Libya, with Benghazi as its main city, has historical reasons for being suspicious of central rule.

Under the Ottoman empire it was the province of Cyrenaica, separate from Tripolitania to the west where the Libyan capital now lies. Colonial Italy brought the provinces together, eventually reviving the classical name "Libya" in the 1930s. Read More