At least four people have died following overnight clashes ahead of Wednesday's rival protests in Venezuela by supporters and opponents of President Nicolas Maduro, police and non-governmental organizations said.

A 16-year-old was among the dead having suffered "a firearm injury during a demonstration" in the capital Caracas, the Social Conflict Observatory said.

The other three deaths were registered in the southern state of Bolivar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)</s>A 16-year-old boy was shot and killed at one of the anti-government protests in Caracas, the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict (OVCS) reported Wednesday

"We condemn the murder of young Alixon Pizani (16) after being wounded with a firearm during a demonstration in Catia, Caracas" on Tuesday evening, said the non-governmental organization on Twitter.</s>The Nacional media outlet reported that police officers were firing at buildings, without specifying the type of guns used.

[ #Now ] At the cry of "Get out Maduro " neighbors of the Avenue Armed Forces in #Caracas bang pots in protest and put up barricades. They also report "pot banging " in other areas of Caracas https://t.co/PGonadttVg Video: @Dayanakrays

 pic.twitter.com/kg5rvSybOa — Michael Welling (@WellingMichael) January 22, 2019

According to previous media reports, demonstrators in Los Mecedores and Puerta Caracas neighbourhoods barricaded roads with tires and stones, joining the protests in Caracas neighbourhood of Cotiza, which erupted after a group of servicemen attacked a National Guard outpost in Cotiza.</s>CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Latest on nationwide protests in Venezuela (all times local):

There was an eerie calm on the streets of Caracas early Wednesday ahead of a planned anti-government demonstration seeking to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

Many shops were closed while riot police flanked by water tanks and lightly armored vehicles guarded the emblematic Plaza Venezuela that leads to downtown.

Juan Guaido, the newly-installed leader of congress who called Wednesday's march, urged security forces to stand alongside peaceful protesters.

"The world's eyes are on our homeland today," he said in an early-morning tweet.

Overnight there were reports of unrest in several working-class neighborhoods of Caracas as residents took to the streets to set fire to barricades demanding Maduro's resignation.

Venezuela's re-invigorated opposition faces a crucial test Wednesday as it seeks to fill streets nationwide with protesters in an appeal to the military and the poor to shift loyalties that until recently looked solidly behind President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government.

The protests have been called to coincide with a historic date for Venezuelans — the anniversary of the 1958 coup that overthrew military dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez. Government supporters are also expected to march in downtown Caracas in a rival show of strength.

The competing demonstrations will come after a whirlwind week that saw an uprising by a tiny military unit, fires set during protests in poor neighborhoods and the brief detention by security forces of the newly installed head of the opposition-controlled congress.
A 16-year-old boy is shot and killed at around midnight on Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning during protests in the Venezuelan capital Caracas. Three others are killed in overnight protests in Estado Bolívar.