Clashes Between Police and Anti-Corruption Protesters in Serbia

SadaNews - Late Friday night, Belgrade witnessed clashes between thousands of government-opposing protesters and the police on the fourth day of unrest, amid fears of the government tightening repression against ongoing anti-corruption protests that have persisted for several months in Serbia.

Following several nights of confrontations that resulted in dozens of injuries and multiple arrests, supporters of nationalist President Aleksandar Vučić once again faced the protesters in the capital.

Tear gas and stun grenades were fired at the protesters, according to the "Agence France-Presse".

Anti-corruption protests have been shaking Serbia since the roof of a railway station in Novi Sad (South) collapsed on November 1, 2024, killing 16 people in an incident that protesters claim resulted from rampant corruption in the country.

The demonstrations, organized primarily by students, have generally been peaceful so far, taking place across the country and gathering hundreds of thousands of people.

However, the protest movement escalated this week when groups of supporters of the populist government, often masked and armed with sticks and fireworks, attacked the protesters.

Željko, a 46-year-old protester, said in front of government buildings on Friday in Belgrade: "I do not want to live in a country subjected to police repression."

The police have arrested dozens of protesters in recent days, particularly when they vandalized the offices of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party in Novi Sad.

While the protests have so far led to the resignation of the Prime Minister and the collapse of his government, the President remains at the head of a reshaped government.

Since May, protesters have been demanding early elections, which Vučić, re-elected in 2022 for a five-year term, refuses, denouncing a foreign conspiracy aimed at overthrowing his government.