Venezuelans clash with police after disputed election result
Thousands of Venezuelans are heading towards the presidential palace in Caracas to protest against President Nicolás Maduro's claim of victory in the country's disputed election.
Others posted pictures of the crowds on social media with captions including “knock down the dictator” and “everyone to Miraflores” - where the palace is located.
The BBC has seen an armed military convoy travelling to the presidential palace, with soldiers in balaclavas standing on the back of the cars carrying large rifles.
Tear gas was fired by police as protests erupted in the Venezuelan capital the day after Mr Maduro claimed he had won.
The opposition has disputed Mr Maduro's declaration of victory as fraudulent, saying its candidate Edmundo González won convincingly with 73.2% of the vote.
Opinion polls ahead of the election suggested a clear victory for the challenger.
Opposition parties had united behind Mr González in an attempt to unseat President Maduro after 11 years in power, amid widespread discontent over the country's economic crisis.
A number of Western and Latin American countries, as well as international bodies including the UN, have called on the Venezuelan authorities to release voting records from individual polling stations.
A heavy military and police presence, including water cannons, was on the streets of Caracas with the aim of trying to disperse protesters and prevent them from approaching the presidential palace.
Crowds of people chanted “Freedom, freedom!” and called for the government to fall.
Footage showed tyres burning on highways and large numbers of people on the streets, with police on motorbikes firing tear gas.
In some areas, posters of President Maduro were ripped down and burned while tyres, cars and rubbish have also been set alight.
Armed police, military and left-wing paramilitaries who are sympathetic to the government clashed with protesters and blocked off many roads around the city centre.
--BBC
