LIBYANS staged a second noisy demonstration in Bournemouth Square after Friday prayers yesterday.

Around 50 people, including Arabs from other countries, walked from Bournemouth Islamic Centre and chanted with a megaphone.

They carried signs including “Gaddafi is a criminal”, “We Shall Die For Our Democracy” and “Oil First, Oil Second – Libyan Blood third?”

An estimated 2,000 people have been killed in an eight day-long revolution calling for democracy and the overthrow of dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Diab Almeel, chief organiser of the march and owner of Meet@net café in Old Christchurch Road, said: “If we held this protest in Libya they would shoot and kill us immediately.”

Bournemouth town centre resident Chantelle Rollaston-Makepeace, 32, led the chants for a few minutes and said: “When I saw them on Tuesday I got goose pimples. I love their passion so I am standing here to support them.”

Basher Bengared, 34, from Bani Walid in the west of the country, had been arrested and tortured over three days in Libya for anti-Government comments.

He now runs Bournemouth City College on The Lansdowne and said: “We want to express our anger and hopefully encourage Governments around the world to support Libyans and not only be interested in oil.

“We see a better and brighter future. We want the people to share in power. There are around 2,000 Libyans in Bournemouth. Most of them come here as students.”

A 21-year-old language student who was too worried for his name to be printed said: “If you call people in Tripoli they will say ‘We are fine’ and immediately close the phone because the government will hear them and attack them.

He said he was demonstrating partly because “Gaddafi made people think we are a really bad country because he killed people. But we are a really kind people.”