Injuries at Venezuela protests against President Maduro

More than 20 people have been injured and 39 detained during anti-government protests in Venezuela, a local rights group has said.

Images circulated on social media of injured people on the ground. There are reports at least three were shot.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against President Nicolas Maduro's government.

It came after a recall referendum process - an attempt to remove Mr Maduro from power- was suspended.

Opposition activists had gathered about 200,000 signatures petitioning for a recall referendum.

But the process was halted last week. Officials said the signature collection process has been marred by fraud.

The country's opposition-led parliament voted on Tuesday to open a trial against Mr Maduro, who MPs accuse of violating the constitution.

What's behind Venezuela's turmoil?

Protesters clashed with security forces across the country, particularly in the western cities of San Cristobal and Maracaibo.

"The referendum was our constitutional right, and they have denied it. What are they scared of?" said Grimaldi Lopez at the rally in the capital, Caracas.

Using the hashtag #TomadeVenezuela or "Venezuela takeover", people shared images of injured and bloodied protesters.

Alfredo Romero, leader of a human rights NGO, tweeted a picture of an injured 79-year-old woman, and said more than 20 people had been injured in the city of Merida alone.

Mr Maduro, a former bus driver and union leader, is blamed by the opposition for Venezuela's dire economic situation. The oil-rich country is facing widespread food shortages and spiralling inflation.

In turn, he has accused the opposition of having links to foreign states, the US in particular, and of seeking to overthrow him to "lay their hands on Venezuela's oil riches".

Image copyrightAP

Image captionOpposition protesters rally every week but organisers believed Wednesday's protest would be one of the biggest yet

Under Venezuela's constitution, a recall referendum can be held once a president has served half of his term in office and the requisite steps are met.

So far, the opposition has completed the first step of the process