Authorities have been forced to close down the only specialised urology hospital east of Libya after a brutal attack by an armed group.

Militants attacked the health centre in Benghazi, before beating three female nurses and two security guards and stealing valuable equipment of the hospital.

Urology is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary-tract system and reproductive organs.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), a United Nations (UN) agency, lamented that the closure of the hospital in Benghazi put the lives of a large number of populations at risk.

WHO bemoaned that attacks on health facilities and medical staff across the North African country had been increasing.

The health workers operate in difficult situations and face intimidations, harassment, and attempts of the assassination while they are saving the lives of thousands whose access to health care services is limited.

"WHO reminds all parties that attacks on health workers, facilities and patients is a violation of international humanitarian law and calls on all parties to respect the sanctity of health care," a spokesperson said.

Benghazi is the second-most populous city in Libya after Tripoli.

A city of some 700 000 people, Benghazi is synonymous with an uprising against the government of slayed leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Gaddafi';s overthrow and eventual murder has rendered Libya ungovernable.