Police fired tear gas and made several arrests as 20,000 people marched Saturday in the Venezuelan capital Caracas against what they say is President Nicolas Maduro's heavy-handed repression of dissent.

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At least 31 people have been killed in more than six weeks of student-led protests against Maduro's government amid a crackdown on the opposition.

Maduro's administration has been the target of near-daily protests fueled by public anger over soaring crime, hyperinflation and shortages of such basic goods as toilet paper, and further stoked by what demonstrators say is a repressive police crackdown.

The protest was called after two opposition mayors were arrested earlier in the week.

Another opposition leader, former mayor Leopoldo Lopez, was arrested on February 18 on charges of inciting violence during the protest.

Lopez, along with a faction of the opposition, favours tactics that would actively push Maduro from power.

At the rally, Lopez's wife Lilian Tintori read a letter from the jailed politician to Maduro in which he accused the president of being the "dictator of Venezuela".

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, governor of Miranda state, led one of five protest marches that converged for a mass rally in the capital.

Saturday's Caracas rally was peaceful until a group of masked youths attempted to block a busy highway, triggering a brief intervention from riot police and security forces who fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse them.

The youths responded by throwing stones and more tear gas was fired to prevent protesters blocking streets. At least eight people were arrested, according to one NGO that monitors protester arrests.

Protests across the country

Anti-government demonstrations also broke out in cities such as Valencia in the north and Merida and San Cristobal in the west.

Three people were killed by gunfire over the weekend in confrontations between demonstrators and gunmen, many of them riding motorbikes.

A motorcyclist attempted to cross the barricade and opened fire on demonstrators when they would not let him through, fatally wounding a 26-year-old demonstrator who died in hospital on Saturday.

A bus driver, 31, died Friday night after being shot in the head during another confrontation between demonstrators and hooded gunmen in the western city of San Cristobal, according to local residents. He had not been involved in the protests, the witnesses said.

Another man was killed by a bullet on Saturday in the Andean city of Merida during a shootout between armed protesters and gunmen on motorcycles, a witness told Reuters.

"In the name of freedom, put an end to dictatorship now," read one of the many banners held aloft in the Caracas protest, where opposition leader Henrique Capriles led one of several rallies.

Maduro, who succeeded leftist leader Hugo Chavez after his death last year, has combined calls for dialogue with a hard stance against opposition rivals and demonstrators.

Maduro claims US is aiding protest movement

Maduro says he has fended off a coup bid aided or supported by the United States and other "fascists".

Protests have mainly taken place in middle-class opposition strongholds. Maduro still enjoys support among Venezuela's larger, poor population.

The crackdown on opposition figures contrasts with Maduro's call for rivals to join a "peace conference".

The main opposition refuses to join the dialogue until the government frees more than 100 protesters who remain behind bars.

A large crowd of pro-government supporters, mostly students, marched separately in downtown Caracas.

Maduro joined the march and claimed that opposition protesters "have burned" 15 public university buildings since the demonstrations began on February 4. He described the acts as "terrorism, vandalism and fascism".

Maduro has also threatened to arrest Ramon Muchacho, the mayor of Chacao – a Caracas district that has become the heart of opposition activity in the capital – for not cracking down on protesters in his jurisdiction.

The mayor said there had been "several" arrests during the march on Saturday.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)

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