March 15 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan soldiers and police killed nine people and tortured others during a week of protests by opposition groups demanding a recall vote against President Hugo Chavez, a human rights group said.

Jose Miguel Vivanco, executive director of New York-based Human Rights Watch's Americas division, said Venezuela was responsible for the deaths during the protests and that the group has seen evidence and heard witnesses describe ``cruel and inhuman treatment'' of protesters arrested by the National Guard between Feb. 27 and March 4.

``There is unquestionable evidence of human rights violations by agents of the Venezuelan state,'' Vivanco told Union radio.

The National Electoral Council has said it expects to make a final ruling this month whether the opposition submitted enough valid signatures to force a recall on Chavez. The council ruled two weeks ago that the opposition was about 600,000 signatures short. A process the council says will allow 1 million signatures to be validated will begin this month.

The government said it is investigating the nine deaths and hasn't said who is to blame. Chavez said March 5 that National Guard soldiers have fired on protesters only when protesters shot at them and otherwise used rubber bullets and tear gas.

Chavez said yesterday he hasn't seen any evidence of torture of protesters by soldiers. Opposition groups were ``making up'' claims of mistreatment, Chavez said.

``Now they're going around crying,'' Chavez said during a televised speech yesterday. ``If there was torture, show me the evidence or stop whining.''

Opposition groups plan to show evidence of human rights violations by the government to international organizations, Rafael Narvaez, member of the opposition group Democratic Coordinator, told Union radio.

Narvaez didn't say when or to which international organizations the evidence would be presented.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Kennedy in Caracas akennedy1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 15, 2004 09:37 EST