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REUTERS
CARACAS
A 17-YEAR-OLD Venezuelan protester died in ferocious clashes between security forces and protesters in Caracas on Wednesday, taking the death toll from unrest since April to at least 66.
The government said Neomar Lander died when a homemade mortar exploded in his hands while hundreds of youths faced off with National Guard troops in Caracas.
Some opposition lawmakers, however, said he was killed by a tear gas cannister fired straight at him. The state prosecutor's office announced a probe, without giving details.
A Reuters photographer saw a young man, assumed to be Lander, lying bloodied and motionless on the street, receiving emergency first aid.
At least 66 people have died, with victims including government and opposition supporters, bystanders and members of the security forces, since demonstrations began against President Nicolas Maduro more than two months ago.
Each side blames the other for the violence.
Critics denounce Maduro as a repressive dictator, and are demanding general elections, foreign humanitarian aid, freedom for hundreds of jailed activists, and autonomy for the opposition-controlled National Assembly.
"The government has closed all the democratic doors. So what else can we do? Going onto the streets is the only option we have left,"opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who is on the streets daily, said.
