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| Friday, 5 December 2003 |
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Police, troops battle rioters in Caracas CARACAS, Venezuela, Thursday (Reuters) Venezuelan police and national guard troops firing tear gas clashed with rioting street vendors in downtown Caracas and at least one policeman was hurt by stones thrown by the protesters, officials said. The clashes, triggered by police seizures of illegal fireworks, raised tensions in the world's No. 5 oil exporter as electoral authorities prepared to evaluate an opposition request for a referendum on the rule of leftist President Hugo Chavez. Police said the demonstrators, some shouting slogans in support of Chavez, fired guns at officers and threw firecrackers. Bystanders ran for cover and downtown shopkeepers shuttered their premises. "It seems as though some people are trying to create disorder in the capital, for some dark purposes," Metropolitan Police deputy director Orlando Gutierrez told Reuters. He said one officer was hit on the head by a stone. Fire service chief Rodolfo Briceno said two officers were hurt. The disturbances in the capital spread to the area outside the National Electoral Council, where national guard troops in full riot gear fired tear gas to disperse the protesters. Security was reinforced around the council with more guards and two armored vehicles. The country has been generally calm in recent months, and many ordinary Venezuelans had hoped for a quiet Christmas compared to last year, when an opposition general strike stoked political tensions. Last year also saw a brief coup against populist Chavez and a spate of often violent street protests. In a head-on challenge to the president, Chavez's opponents said they collected 3.6 million signatures during the weekend, enough to trigger a referendum in March or April on whether he should leave office. Chavez has already accused the opposition of "mega-fraud." His supporters say only 1.9 million signatures were collected, short of the 2.4 million required to secure a referendum. |
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