Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has publicly demanded resignation of Reforms Minister Roberto Calderoli following a deadly clash in Libya over the minister's wearing of a T-shirt printed with cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.

But Calderoli told Italy's ANSA news agency he would step down "after having received an indication from the Muslim world that this gesture of mine can be useful."

The Italian consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi was set afire and besieged by protesters incensed at the cartoons. At least 10 people died

The recent republication of 12 caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad by some European newspapers, which were first published by Danish daily Jyllands-Posten last September, have sparked widespread protests in the Islamic world.

Source: Xinhua