As many as 14 people have been killed in violent clashes between regime forces and protestors in Venezuela, marring Sunday’s election of a controversial new assembly.<br /><br />Among the dead are an opposition youth leader, a pro-government candidate and a soldier.<br /><br />Venezuela screaming for help#prayforvenezuela pic.twitter.com/bn3YilVqHo— Victoria (@VictoriaxGoch) July 31, 2017<br /><br /><br />The vote, which the opposition sees as a power grab by the president, will see the creation of a constituent assembly with the power to rewrite the constitution and override congress.<br /><br />Security forces used armored vehicles to disperse demonstrators, and gunfire could be heard across the country.<br /><br />As voting got underway, protestors took to streets in spite of a government ban, and casualties were reported on both sides.<br /><br />Deadly protests mar #Venezuela ballot as voters snub NicolasMaduro assembly https://t.co/oTSTgsl42l pic.twitter.com/91j02Hvmzv— Reuters Venezuela (ReutersVzla) July 30, 2017<br /><br /><br />Three people were shot dead in the state of Tichiria – a soldier from the national guard and two teenagers.<br /><br />In the early hours of Sunday morning, shortly before polls opened, José Felix Pineda, a 39-year-old lawyer standing in the election, was also reportedly shot dead in his home in Bolivar state.<br /><br />Ricardo Campos, a youth secretary with the opposition Acción Democrática party, was killed during a protest in the north-eastern town of Cumana, according to prosecutors.<br /><br />Explosion knocks police officers off their motorcycles as violence surrounding the election spread through Venezuela https://t.co/LkMh3YQYhl pic.twitter.com/SNkuTN4Y5I— CNN International (@cnni) July 31, 2017<br /><br /><br />An explosion near a demonstration in Caracas saw a number of police injured and their motorcycles destroyed.<br /><br />Four months of protests against Maduro have seen more than 100 people lose their lives.<br />
