Police and protesters clash in Serbia

Police fired tear gas and clashed with protesters in central Belgrade as tens of thousands of people gathered to demand early elections and an end to the more than decade-long rule of Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic.

On Saturday, people flocked to Slavija Square, one of the capital’s main intersections, in a new burst of demonstrations that began a year and a half ago when a deadly roof collapse triggered a youth-led movement against allegations of corruption and mismanagement.

Riot police cordoned off Belgrade’s city hall, about a kilometer away, before sporadic clashes broke out between protesters and police near the presidential building and in front of a park where Vucic’s supporters have camped since March last year.

Police used tear gas and stun grenades as they pushed protesters down the street. Protesters set fire to containers filled with garbage.

Many in the crowd wore badges with red hands reading “Your hands are bloody” and signs reading “Students are winning.”

Anti-government protests began on November 1, 2024, after an awning at a train station in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad collapsed.

Protesters, opposition leaders and rights watchdogs say it is a sign of broader mismanagement.

Vucic and his allies deny accusations of corruption and a crackdown on critics and say they are moving to punish those responsible for the roof collapse.

On Saturday, before clashes broke out, Belgrade University of Arts rector Mirjana Nikolic told a cheering crowd: “This government… is afraid of those who defend their dignity and rights.”

Police estimated the crowd in the square and surrounding streets at 34,300.

The Public Meetings Archive, a group that tracks public meetings, puts the number at around 100,000.

“I came here to show how many of us there are, how unhappy citizens we are, and that it’s time to hold an election to make things better,” 55-year-old farmer Dragan Djuric told the rally.