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Venezuelans mount another wave of anti-government protests

11 April 2017 05:10 (UTC +04:00)

Venezuelan opposition supporters took to the streets again on Monday in sometimes violent clashes to protest an economic crisis in the first sustained wave of anti-government demonstrations in three years, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Demonstrators gathered in several cities on Monday for a fourth round of protests in 10 days, blocking the main highway through Caracas in the morning until they were dispersed by National Guard troops.

Opposition leaders slammed the government for arbitrary use of force in breaking up Monday's demonstrations. They pointed to tear gas being fired into one Caracas clinic, requiring a baby to be rushed out by medical technicians.

Government officials sent images and videos via Twitter of hooded and masked protestors destroying public property such as a bus stop, accusing the opposition of orchestrating violence to destabilize the government.

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said 18 people had been detained during the protests, which coincided with the usually vacation-focused Easter week holiday.