Shooting, Explosions Reported as VIDEOS of Caracas Protests Circulate on the Net

Meanwhile, the number of people who have been killed in clashes during nationwide protests in Venezuela has increased to 16, local media reported.

According to the media outlet La Prensa de Lara, 16 people were killed in clashes in the Venezuelan states of Portuguesa, Barinas, Tachira, Caracas, Amazonas, and Bolivar.

Several Twitter accounts reported explosions in the eastern part of Venezuela's capital.

​Another user posted footage allegedly capturing gunfire during the protests in Caracas.

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​Further footage shows people walking down the streets with loud claps heard in the background.

​Several videos posted online pictured the protesters capturing a truck that allegedly belongs to to the country's national police in the west of the Venezuelan capital Caracas and setting it on fire.

"The group of screaming men came out of the truck of the national [police] after serious clashes on the streets", the eyewitness said.

On Wednesday, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself the country's interim president at a mass rally in Caracas. The United States urged Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down in favour of Guaido. Maduro called the opposition leader "the US puppet" and said that Venezuela was severing diplomatic ties with Washington. Guaido previously called for a nationwide anti-government protest on January 23, which marks the 61st anniversary of the uprising that overthrew military dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez. Supporters of Maduro held a separate rally on the same day.