TRIPOLI: Two people were killed in clashes with security forces in eastern Libya and a security official has been sacked over the deaths, the Libyan newspaper Quryna said Thursday on its website.

Citing "well-informed security sources," it said the interior ministry has fired Colonel Hassan Kardhaoui, head of security in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar province, after the deaths of Khaled Khanfer and Saad al-Yamani on Wednesday.

Protesters had torched "several police cars and citizens," the Quryna website added.

According to Quryna, police had closed businesses in the eastern town of Al-Baida, triggering clashes between shopkeepers and police before the situation degenerated.

Reports from NGOs and opposition websites had said that between four and 13 people were killed in Al-Baida in clashes between security forces and demonstrators opposed to Moamer Kadhafi's regime, on the eve of a nationwide "Day of Anger" called by cyber-activists for Thursday.