BELGRADE, May 24. /TASS/. Clashes between police and opponents of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade are over, and 23 protestors have been detained, the country’s Interior Ministry said.
According to a TASS correspondent, protestors have left the area, and police officers are now removing their protective gear and withdrawing from the city. Municipal staff has begun to clear the garbage and dismantle the barricades.
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said protestors threw bottles, stones, and pyrotechnics at the police.
Earlier on Saturday, a large anti-government rally took place on Slavija Square in Belgrade. The Interior Ministry estimated that approximately 34,300 people attended. Many demonstrators came carrying national flags and symbols in support of the student protest movement. The crowd filled the square and adjacent streets, chanting slogans criticizing President Vucic. In the evening, riot police pushed protesters away from the camp of Vucic’s supporters near the country’s National Assembly building. The police used tear gas, while the demonstrators set trash cans on fire.
Protests have been going on in Serbia since November 2024, after a canopy collapsed at the railway station in Novi Sad, killing 16 people. The protesters blame the authorities for the tragedy. One of their demands is early parliamentary elections.
