Supporters of Serbia’s ruling Progressive Party (SNS) clashed with anti-government protesters in Novi Sad on Wednesday evening, throwing flares and firecrackers from the direction of SNS offices. Police intervened to end the standoff, marking a major escalation in the nine-month wave of nationwide demonstrations.
The protests began after 16 people were killed when the roof of a renovated railway station in Novi Sad collapsed last November. Demonstrators blame corruption for the disaster and are demanding early elections to end President Aleksandar Vučić’s 13 years in power.
At a late-night news conference, Vučić, flanked by Interior Minister Ivica Dačić, said 16 police officers and about 60 SNS supporters were injured in Novi Sad. He accused foreign powers of orchestrating the unrest and vowed arrests. Reuters could not independently verify his claims.
Footage showed SNS loyalists using sticks and truncheons to attack protesters, some of whom had bloody faces. Opposition group Move-Change said Vučić’s backers were responsible and that such attacks “violate the right to life and protest.”
In Belgrade, police in full riot gear blocked protesters from approaching a pro-Vučić camp near parliament, and clashed with demonstrators elsewhere who tried to reach local SNS offices.
Students leading the protests called for rallies outside SNS offices in major cities—including Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Čačak, and Niš—after Tuesday’s violence in Vrbas, where several protesters were injured in clashes with SNS supporters.
Vučić and his allies deny opposition accusations of ties to organised crime, violence against rivals, and curbing media freedoms.
