<p><br /> Allies and adversaries of President Hugo Chavez have come to blows in Venezuela's National Assembly.<br /> </p><p><br /> Several rival assembly members, including opposition politician Alfonso Marquina, approached the podium during a debate where senior government officials were taking questions from opposition politicians.<br /> </p><p><br /> Mr Marquina complained that boisterous Chavez supporters inside the chamber should be silenced and angry congressmen in front of the podium began pushing and shoving, with Mr Marquina and pro-Chavez opponent Henry Villanueva exchanging blows.<br /> </p><p><br /> Fellow assembly members, aided by security guards, separated the pair and the melee broke up after appeals for calm from the podium.<br /> </p><p><br /> Afterwards, Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro blamed opposition politicians for the violence.<br /> </p><p><br /> Mr Chavez's opponents gained ground in September elections, winning 67 of the assembly's 165 seats and preventing the president and his allies from getting the two-thirds majority needed to pass some legislation.<br /> </p><p><br /> The result has been a build-up in tension, with heated debates and parties trading insults and threats.<br /> </p>
