TRIPOLI - Libya's justice minister resigned on Monday in protest at excessive use of violence against protesters, according to Libya's Quryna newspaper.

The newspaper said on its web site it had spoken to Justice Minister Mustafa Mohamed Abud Al Jeleil by phone.

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Violence in Libya escalated Monday as thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets in capital Tripoli.

Hospitals are struggling to cope with the numbers of casualties, with reports from medical officials suggesting the death toll has reached 200.

The Pan-Arab Al-Jazeera TV quoted medical sources as saying 61 people had been killed in the latest protests in Tripoli on Monday.

It said security forces were looting banks and other government institutions in Tripoli, and protesters had broken into several police stations and wrecked them.

Protesters in Tripoli have ransacked the headquarters of state television overnight and set the offices of the People's Committees that are the mainstay of the regime ablaze.

Fighting has also broken out in the eastern cities of Al-Bayada, Ajdabiya, Darnah, and Tobruk.

Inspired by streets-born uprisings that had swept Tunisia and Egypt and forced their leaders to step down, thousands of Libyans have started a string of protests against leader Muammar Gaddafi, in power for 41 years.