Srinagar: Venezuelan protesters have lobbed bottles and bags of faeces at soldiers who fought back with tear gas to block the latest march in more than a month of nationwide protests against President Nicolas Maduro, Al Jazeera reported.

The so-called “Shit March” on Wednesday on the main highway through Caracas came as thousands of opposition supporters again poured onto the streets decrying Venezuela’s economic crisis and demanding elections, the report said.

“These kids live in a dictatorship, they have no other option but to protest however they see fit,” a local was quoted as saying.

Many carried stones and so-called “Poopootov cocktails” – faeces stuffed into small glass bottles – which they threw when National Guard troops blocked their path, firing gas and turning water cannons on the crowds, the report said.

“There’s nothing explosive here. It’s our way of saying ‘get lost Maduro, you’re useless!’,” one young protester, who asked not to be named told Al Jazeera.

Some opposition sympathisers were appalled at the use of faeces, both animal and human, calling it an unsanitary and inappropriate tactic even in the face of a government they despise, the report said.

They noted that throwing faeces could increase cases of infectious diseases which are soaring due to the lack of medicine as well as basic cleaning materials such as soaps and disinfectant.