Violence erupts at nationwide protests in Serbia (VIDEOS)
More than 60 supporters of the ruling party and 16 police officers were injured in a standoff in Novi Sad, officials say
Violent clashes have broken out across Serbia between anti-government protesters and ruling party supporters, leaving dozens injured. The Balkan country has been reeling under unrest for months, with activists demanding early parliamentary elections and accountability for a deadly collapse of a railway station canopy late last year.
The fiercest standoff took place on Wednesday in the city of Novi Sad, where protesters gathered around the office of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). The party’s supporters and protesters threw flares and other objects at each other, with demonstrators also smashing the building’s windows.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that 64 people were injured at the premises of SNS in Novi Sad alone. He claimed that the protesters “approached from the rear with sticks, cannon shots, [and] attacked,” adding that the pro-government activists “will not retreat, they opposed the beaters and blockaders” whom he called “thugs.”
The president added that 16 police officers who intervened were also injured while accusing unnamed foreign powers of orchestrating the unrest. “Persons who violated the law will be apprehended... Tonight, we have averted a catastrophic scenario planned by someone from abroad,” he said.
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The opposition Move-Change movement, however, accused pro-government activists of attacking protesters with pyrotechnic devices.
Similar scenes unfolded in the capital city of Belgrade, where riot police deployed tear gas to disperse protesters near a park by the parliament building. Demonstrators were blocked from advancing further toward the SNS offices.
Clashes were also reported in Kraljevo, Kragujevac, Nis, and Cacak, with police moving to separate opposing sides in several towns.
The protests were ignited in November after a concrete canopy at the newly renovated railway station in Novi Sad collapsed, killing 16 people, with protesters – which were mainly students – accusing the government of corruption and cover-up. The demands later extended to educational reforms and holding snap parliamentary elections.
Vucic has on several occasions labeled the protesters “terrorists” who are seeking to “bring down the state,” suggesting they have been acting under foreign influence.
Several Serbian ministers, including Prime Minister Milos Vucevic, resigned in the wake of the unrest, with the government publishing documents related to the canopy collapse.