Serbia turmoil: New clashes as political crisis spirals

Serbia’s Anti‑Corruption Protesters Clash with Riot Police in Belgrade

Months of anti‑government demonstrations erupted into street violence this week, as anti‑corruption protests intensified across Serbia after the collapse of a Novi Sad railway station roof, which killed 16 people and was widely accused of corruption.

Violence Flares in Cities and Belgrade

• Anti‑graft demonstrators gathered in several cities late Thursday, protesting a previous attack by governing‑party supporters on demonstrators in Vrbas.
• Pro‑government supporters, most wearing masks, confronted protesters on Wednesday, hurling bottles, stones and fireworks.
• Police arrested nearly 50 people across the country on Wednesday and around 30 riot police were injured.

On Thursday, protesters vandalised the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) headquarters in Novi Sad and two other SNS offices, according to RTS television. In Belgrade, protesters massed in front of government buildings and army headquarters before heading toward nearby SNS offices, but a heavy riot police deployment kept them from reaching the offices, using teargas.

Interior Minister Calls Protesters “Violent Attack on the State”

Interior Minister Ivica Dacic told a news conference that “these are no longer peaceful student protests but people who want to provoke violence… This is an attack on the state.” At least five police officers were injured on Thursday evening and 14 protesters were arrested, the ministry said.

“Intensifying Crackdown”

Frustrated with government inaction, protesters demanded an investigation into the Novi Sad tragedy and pressured President Aleksandar Vucic to call early elections. Over the past nine months, thousands of mostly peaceful, student‑led demonstrations have been held, some attracting hundreds of thousands. But this week’s violence marks a significant escalation, indicating the increasing strain on Vucic’s populist government, in power for 13 years.

Since June 28, when around 140,000 demonstrators gathered in Belgrade, the government has responded with an “intensifying crackdown” on activists, according to a statement by UN human rights experts released earlier this month. Protesters and those linked to the movement have faced a “troubling pattern of repression,” including excessive police force, intimidation and arbitrary arrest, the experts said.

Vucic has remained defiant, repeatedly rejecting calls for early elections and denouncing the demonstrations as part of a foreign plot to overthrow him. Student protesters accused the police of protecting pro‑government supporters while doing little to stop the attacks on their own gatherings.

“The authorities tried to provoke a civil war last night,” the students wrote on their official Instagram page. Vucic, who had visited pro‑government encampments overnight Wednesday, denied his supporters had started the violence, saying “No one attacked them anywhere.” He added, “They went everywhere to attack those who think differently.”

While the protests have so far led to the resignation of the prime minister and the collapse of his cabinet, Vucic remains at the helm of a reshuffled government, as the protests continue to fuel unrest and demand accountability.