Demonstrations: Protests against government in Serbia escalate again

In Serbia, the second evening in a row occurred violent protests against President Aleksandar Vucic’s leadership. In the second largest city of Novi Sad in the north of the country, people smashed the panes of two seats from the presidential party SNS, penetrated the buildings and removed objects, as Serbian media reported. In the capital Belgrade, SNS supporters threw the government opponents with fireworks. The mood is chaotic, it said in the media.

According to Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, five police officers were injured and 14 demonstrators were arrested. Vucic explained in a TV talk show that there would be further arrests. He also criticized the police for not intervening hard enough against the demonstrators in Novi Sad. At the time of the rush, no police officers were present at one of the SNS buildings devastated there, the Belgrade news agency Tanjug reported.

As in the evening before, government opponents demonstrated in more than 30 locations in the country in front of the respective SNS party seats and were expected there by police barriers and followers of the SNS. There had been dozens of injuries on the evening before – in the case of hand -made between demonstrators of the different sides and by police violence with sticks. Vucic had announced that the authorities would “clean” the streets from demonstrators, which he described as a criminal.

Corruption allegation as a protest trigger

For more than nine months, masses of people in Serbia have been demonstrating against Vucic almost every day. The protests were triggered by the collapse of a newly renovated station vordach in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024. 16 people were killed. Independent experts and opposition figures blam and corruption under the Vucic government for the tragedy.

The demonstrators criticize the Vucic government as corrupt and authoritarian. They demand their resignation and new elections. The recent protests had fired that supporters of Vucic ‘party SNS had assumed government -critical demonstrators in the Northern Serbian villages of VRBAS and BACHA Palanka without the police against it.

Live ticker to protests, Serbian