An alleged 'thief' was set on fire and a demonstrator shot dead as 200,000 people marched across the country against the deeply unpopular government in Venezuela.

Shocking photos show a man among protesters ripping off his clothes in agony after he was set ablaze for reportedly stealing during the march, that attracted close to 160,000, in capital Caracas on Saturday.

Despite being consumed in flames the man survived the assault and was later pictured sitting down, surrounded by protesters trying to keep others away.

Opposition demonstrators set an alleged thief on fire during a protest against the government of President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas

The man ran and ripped off his clothes to escape the harsh flames

Demonstrators look on helplessly as the man strugles out of this clothes. The Caracas march on Saturday attracted 200,000 people

A young demonstrator, in an anti President Nicolas Maduro rally in the western city of Valera, died after being shot in the chest as gunmen opened fire at the crowds.

'At that moment, (Edy Alejandro) Teran Aguilar received a bullet in the chest,' the attorney general's office in a statement.

Also wounded in the shootings were an 18-year-old male and a 50-year-old woman, it said. Teran was 23.

The incident came amid massive demonstrations to the mark the 50th day of angry protests against the leftist government, demanding elections to replace Maduro.

In some cities, the protests degenerated into violent clashes between demonstrators and police and government troops.

In Caracas, the mayor of a municipality in the eastern part of the city said 46 people were injured, and in the suburb of San Antonio Los Altos a youth was wounded by gunfire, the opposition governor of the state of Miranda said.

Despite being consumed in flames the man survived the assault

He was pictured with protesters pouring drinks over him and damaged clothes

burning truck is seen during clashes between opposition supporters and security forces at the Caracas rally

Nicholas Maduro took over as president after the death of the charismatic Hugo Chavez who died in 2013. Opposition blame the leftist for the dire shortages of the most basic of goods

Since the protests began April 1, hundreds of people have been injured and some 2,200 have been detained, 161 of them jailed on orders of military courts, Foro Penal, a non-governmental monitor, said.

Seven in 10 Venezuelans reject Maduro's leadership, according to private surveys, amid widespread economic devastation aggravated by the drop in the prices of oil - Venezuela's chief revenue source - in 2014.

As with many of the previous marches in the crisis-hit country, police fired tear gas at protesters in the capital suffering from dire shortages of the most basic of goods.

The opposition blames Maduro for the economic mess in oil-rich Venezuela, demanding early elections to replace the socialist who took over from the late Hugo Chavez. Seven weeks of street protests have left 47 people dead.

In Caracas alone, some 160,000 marched through the city trying to reach the Interior Ministry in the city center, said Edinson Ferrer, spokesman for the opposition coalition MUD, citing a preliminary estimate.

Police firing tear gas broke up the demonstration and protesters responded by throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails.

At least 46 people were injured in the eastern district of Chacao, the authorities said, including a woman hit by a vehicle.

Riots were taking place on the city's outskirts overnight.

In the western city of San Cristobal in Tachira state, an estimated 40,000-plus took to the streets. Maduro ordered 2,600 soldiers to Tachira this week to quell street violence and looting.

In Caracas, demonstrators carried signs that read '#We are millions against the dictatorship' and '#No more dictatorship!'

The protesters blame Maduro for shortages of food, medicine and such basics as soap and even toilet paper, saying he is manoeuvering to dodge calls for early elections.

'It's been 50 days of protests. I'm here with my two children, I can't get any milk, I can't get any food,' said Mariangel, a 24-year-old businesswoman.

Close to 200,000 people turned out to protest in Caracas

Opponents of President Nicolas Maduro gather to block a major highway of the capital

Opposition supporters clash with security forces.Seven in 10 Venezuelans reject Maduro's leadership, according to private surveys

A riot policeman struggles with a demonstrator. The protesters blame Maduro for shortages of food, medicine and such basics as soap and even toilet paper

'This has been a massacre against the people,' opposition leader Henrique Capriles said before the march got underway.

'Still, the more repression there is, the more we will resist and fight for Venezuela,' he added.

One of Capriles's lawyers delivered a report on the Venezuelan crisis to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Friday after Venezuelan officials 'canceled' the opposition leader's passport, preventing him from flying to New York.

Venezuela is bitterly divided as locals bridle under all the shortages, soaring inflation - prices could rise by 720 percent this year, the IMF estimates - and some of the world's highest crime rates.