Shocking moment a baby girl has to be treated after being TEAR GASSED by security forces during clashes at rally against Venezuela's president 

  • Venezuelan police chased anti-government protesters into a shopping mall on Thursday and fired tear gas 
  • Forty-five people, including 17 children, required medical attention after being tear gassed by security forces 

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A baby received medical treatment outside a shopping mall after being tear gassed by security forces at a rally against Venezuela's president in Caracas.

Dozens were injured in the latest round of violence in the oil-rich nation that is in the midst of a political and economic crisis. 

Ramon Muchacho, mayor of the Caracas district Chacao, which is an opposition stronghold, said 45 people in the mall, including 17 children, required medical assistance.

Witness Alejandra Vargas told AFP: 'We came here to get an ice cream and see a movie, and look at this disaster.'

A baby received medical treatment outside a shopping mall after being tear gassed by security forces in Caracas

A baby received medical treatment outside a shopping mall after being tear gassed by security forces in Caracas

A child is taken away from the shopping mall after smoke from tear gas was fired during a rally against President Maduro 

A child is taken away from the shopping mall after smoke from tear gas was fired during a rally against President Maduro 

A child cries as he gets medical attention outside a shopping mall in the Venezuelan capital during clashes at a rally 

A child cries as he gets medical attention outside a shopping mall in the Venezuelan capital during clashes at a rally 

A youth has his face rinsed from the effects of tear gas after security forces lobbed tear gas at demonstrators sheltering inside a shopping mall

A youth has his face rinsed from the effects of tear gas after security forces lobbed tear gas at demonstrators sheltering inside a shopping mall

A child receives medical attention outside the shopping mall where Venezuelan police chased anti-government protesters

A child receives medical attention outside the shopping mall where Venezuelan police chased anti-government protesters

Protester Rosa Rivas, 43, taking part in the rally with her 15-year-old daughter, said when the police forced the crowd to disperse, some went into the mall, either through the main entrance or a parking garage.

'But they chased us. People were running for their lives,' Rivas said. 

The entire mall - made up of 531 stores - was later evacuated as a precaution.

The incident was the latest in three months of chaos in the oil-rich but poverty-stricken country that have seen 91 people killed in clashes with police

The incident was the latest in three months of chaos in the oil-rich but poverty-stricken country that have seen 91 people killed in clashes with police

The incident came a day after 100 government supporters - armed with sticks and pipes - stormed Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly, where they beat up several lawmakers. 

Military police guarding the site stood by as intruders brandishing broke through the gate.

About 350 people were besieged for hours, including journalists, students and visitors, according to the assembly's speaker Julio Borges.  

The pro-Maduro people stood guard outside the assembly for nine hours, screaming insults at lawmakers and preventing them from leaving until police finally intervened and set up a security cordon to let them out.

Freddy Guevara, the assembly vice president and opposition leader, said: 'This is Venezuela today. Criminals attack the National Assembly, the armed forces are complicit in this madness, but the people and the lawmakers resist and advance.'

People react in horror at a restaurant inside the mall following the latest round of violence in the country that is in the midst of a political and economic crisis

People react in horror at a restaurant inside the mall following the latest round of violence in the country that is in the midst of a political and economic crisis

President Nicolas Maduro condemned the assault and promised an investigation but did not publicly acknowledge the intruders were his supporters. 

The attack drew condemnation from the United States, France, the European Union and the Organization of American States.

Venezuela's opposition has been staging demonstrations against Maduro for three months, saying he has created a dictatorship and destroyed the country's economy. 

Maduro, a former bus driver handpicked by the late socialist firebrand Hugo Chavez as his successor, is wildly unpopular among everyday people but still retains the key support of the military.  

The protests, which started on March 29, have frequently ended in violent confrontations with security forces, which have used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds, and there also have clashes with pro-government groups.

Opposition leaders have blamed armed pro-government militias known as 'colectivos' for a number of the deaths, while government officials have accused the opposition of working with criminal gangs to stir up unrest.

The swell of protests - that have left 91 people dead - is the most violent in economically struggling Venezuela since two months of anti-government demonstrations in 2014 that resulted in dozens of deaths.