Flames rise from a burning armoured vehicle. Beijing residents confronting speechless soldiers. The angry accusation, scrawled across the red walls of Communist party headquarters: "Down with the fascist government! Deng is a murderer!"

These imagescaptured near Tiananmen Square in the aftermath of the Beijing massacre, are now published for the first time by the Guardian.

Taken 20 years ago, following the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, it is one of a number of images that have never been seen before save by friends and family of the photographer. He now lives abroad but asked to remain anonymous in case he wishes to return to China.

The photographer who gave his pictures to the Guardian began recording the demonstrations as millions crowded Tiananmen Square pressing Chinese leaders including Deng Xiaoping for change. "Most of the pictures I took were actually after the killings, on the morning of 4 June … I took as many as I could; I wanted to show this to the world," he said.

One, too graphic to be published, shows a body crushed by a tank. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, died as the army forced its way into the city.

"To me, it was a very scary time. Two tanks were passing on the street; soldiers were accompanying them in a truck and one pointed a gun at me just a few metres away. I stood there for ­several seconds. Then they rolled on," he recalled.

"On the first couple of days, every­thing was in chaos … they patrolled the main streets and just kept shooting.

"People were very angry … You can see civilians set fire to quite a few army vehicles."

Not long after taking these images – on a "very, very cheap, very basic, point-and-shoot" – he left China. But none of the news agencies he contacted wanted the photographs. "One of them sent me a postcard to say they only used pictures taken by their staff," he said.

He added: "I want as many people as possible to see them."