At least 2 shot in Venezuela after anti-Chavez march

CARACAS (Reuters) - At least two people were shot at a Venezuelan university on Wednesday after a large student protest against President Hugo Chavez's drive to scrap term limits in a December referendum, authorities said.

A handful of people were taken to the hospital after violence at a university facility in Caracas following a march that drew thousands of students to protest Chavez's moves to expand his powers.

While the exact circumstances of the incident remained unclear, it was the first time in the referendum campaign there were serious injuries and came days after Chavez said the opposition wanted to stoke violence to destabilize the country.

The OPEC nation's civil defense chief, Antonio Rivero, told Globovision television station from the scene of the violence, that at least two people were shot and wounded.

TV images showed hooded men throwing objects into university classes and other people, apparently students, running away from the violence.

Witnesses told Globovision the assailants fired guns and threw tear gas canisters.

A Reuters witness at the scene said bystanders could not tell how the violence erupted.

After the initial violence, apparent Chavez supporters drove through the area on motorbikes and shot into the air, the witness added.

Rivero said his organization's first goal was to ensure people not involved in the violence were able to leave the area safely.

Globovision, which has often represented the voice of Venezuela's weak opposition, said the government should not use the incident as a pretext to deploy troops into campuses that by law are typically off-limits to security forces.