Fresh Venezuela clashes after man set alight

Caracas : Doctors rallied in Venezuela Monday in the latest street protests against President Nicolas Maduro, as a young man lay in hospital after being set on fire by an angry crowd.

Three people were killed in violent riots in late president Hugo Chavez's home state of Barinas, bringing the death toll to 51 as the unrest entered its eighth week, the public prosecution service said.

One of the victims was a 19-year-old man who died from gunshot wounds. An AFP reporter saw demonstrators burn a government office and a police car in the western town of Barinas in the state of the same name.

Fresh clashes also broke out between protesters and police on the outskirts of Caracas, where demonstrators blocked streets with barricades.

After marches by various civil groups, it was the turn of the Venezuelan Medical Federation to vent its frustrations in the streets.

About 20,000 thousand of its sympathizers marched towards the health ministry in Caracas. Police fired tear gas to drive them back, in scenes that have become familiar after weeks of unrest.

"The country is verging on catastrophe. The health system is a disaster," said Fernando Gudayol, a 50-year-old surgeon.

"One is always afraid to come out, but we will carry on doing it until there is a change."