At least two protesters were killed on Wednesday in Venezuela as clashes broke out on the sidelines of a mass anti-government rally that the opposition billed “the mother of all marches”.<br /><br /> A teenager was fatally shot in the head in a neighbourhood of Caracas, and a woman killed in gunfire during a rally in the Andean state of Tachira near the Colombian border.<br /><br /> The deaths mean seven people have now been killed during protests in Venezuela this month. The opposition blames the deaths on security forces and alleged paramilitary groups.<br /><br /> The protests turned violent when youths throwing rocks clashed with security forces spraying tear gas.<br /><br /> Caracas, Venezuela earlier today. At least two dead during mass protests. Maduro acuses the US government of plotting a “coup attempt”. #19A pic.twitter.com/db9CH6dkhz— Enrique Acevedo (@Enrique_Acevedo) April 19, 2017<br /> <br /><br /> Counter-demonstration<br /><br /> Despite the scuffles, Wednesday’s rallies were largely peaceful and drew hundreds of thousands of people.<br /><br /> The protesters accuse President Nicolas Maduro of plunging the economy into chaos and resorting to dictatorial measures to quash public unrest.<br /><br /> “We are writing a new page in history,” said Miguel Pizarro, an opposition congressman.<br />“Let’s not let anything make us think it’s impossible. We are the majority. We are many more. And we will change this country, whether they like it or not.”<br /><br /> Maduro says the opposition is trying to topple his Socialist government, and he got his supporters to hold a counter-demonstration, also in Caracas.<br /><br /> The rival marches carried echoes of the clashes between pro and anti-government protesters that triggered a brief coup against late president Hugo Chavez in 2002.<br /><br /> Venezuela: Police firing teargas against a fleeing crowd in Caracas. People vomiting on the street from the gas. I saw several people hurt. pic.twitter.com/RXfZrbZOAP— lotten collin (@lottencollin) April 19, 2017<br />
