Venezuela's new constituent assembly, a body tasked with rewriting the country's constitution, was sealed off during the course of its first meeting on Friday, as Venezuelans who oppose President Nicolas Maduro and contest the legitimacy of the assembly protested in the streets of Caracas.

Despite clashes between protesters and security forces in the Venezuelan capital, no fatalities were reported. Protests have continued for more than four months, and the opposition's call to renew street demonstrations raised fears that the death toll could risebeyond the 125 individuals who have already died.

Meanwhile, the new constituent assembly gathered inside the gilded Legislative Palace, only meters away from where the opposition-composed National Assembly meets. At the first session, former Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez, a close Maduro ally, was sworn in as president of the new assembly, while former Vice President Aristobulo Isturiz was chosen as his deputy.

In her first speech, Rodriguez decried the political opposition as "violent fascistsm, who are waging economic war on the people" and vowed to bring them to justice.

Formal work is expected to begin on Saturday. Some of the assembly's delegates have already called for the removal of Chief Prosecutor Luisa Ortega, who has been an outspoken Maduro critic.

The meeting of the contested assembly was preceded by a march by delegates and hundreds of government supporters dressed in red shirts and carrying large pictures of Chavez.

President Maduro has said the assembly, elected last weekend in a vote that critics allege was manipulated, will also strip opposition lawmakers of their constitutional immunity from prosecution. The opposition has refused to recognize the new body, which includes Maduro's wife and son among its more than 500 members and is composed largely of presidential loyalists, and reject what they see as a move by Maduro to destroy democracy.

International rejection

Plans to install the new assembly provoked an international outcry, with the United States, the European Union and major Latin American countries all saying they would not recognize it. The Vatican has also urged Maduro not to go ahead with the assembly, calling on the government "to ensure full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the existing constitution."

The constituent assembly has unlimited powers to dissolve the country's legislature, the National Assembly, and amend laws, in addition to its task of rewriting the 1999 constitution brought in under late President Hugo Chavez. Maduro says the new constitution will end Venezuela's political and economic crisis, though he gave no details on how these ends would be attained.

Opposition figure released back into house arrest

Venezuela's domestic intelligence service has meanwhile transferred Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma, a vocal critic of Maduro, from prison back to house arrest, his family said on Friday. Ledezma and another anti-government figure, Leopoldo Lopez, had been taken from home detention to military prisons on Tuesday.

Lopez remains in prison, along with hundreds of other people that the opposition says are political prisoners.

Venezuela remains in the grip of a severe economic crisis, with food and medicine in short supply. The country's currency, the bolivar, lost 20 percent of its value against the US dollar on Thursday, and plummeted a further 12 percent on Friday.

Although a majority of Venezuelans reject Maduro's leadership according to surveys, he enjoys the backing of the military and judicial and electoral authorities.

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