Dozens injured in Serbia as clashes erupt at antigovernment protests

Images from the country amusement authorities supporters throwing flares astatine the protesters who hurl backmost assorted objects.

Clashes person erupted arsenic opponents and supporters of the Serbian authorities faced off, each broadside staging its ain demonstrations, arsenic sustained protests against populist President Aleksandar Vucic person present gone connected for much than 9 months.

The clashes archetypal began connected Tuesday nighttime successful Vrbas, northwest of the superior Belgrade, wherever riot constabulary separated the 2 groups extracurricular the governing Serbian Progressive Party offices successful the town.

The student-led protests successful Serbia archetypal started successful November aft a bid presumption canopy collapsed successful the bluish metropolis of Novi Sad, sidesplitting 16 people, triggering furious accusations of corruption successful authorities infrastructure projects.

Serbia’s president, different authorities officials and pro-government media person repeatedly described the protesters arsenic “terrorists”, though protests since November person been mostly peaceful.

Led by assemblage students, the protesters are demanding that Vucic telephone an aboriginal parliamentary election, which helium has refused to do.

Images from the country showed authorities supporters throwing flares, rocks and bottles astatine the protesters, who hurled backmost assorted objects. Police said that dozens of radical were injured, including 16 constabulary officers.

Similar incidents were reported astatine protests successful different parts of the country.

Police said that respective radical were detained successful Vrbas. Police Commissioner Dragan Vasiljevic told state-run RTS tv that the protesters “came to attack” the governing party’s supporters extracurricular the party’s offices.

An representation taken from video shows protesters and riot constabulary engulfed by fume arsenic clashes erupted astatine protests successful Vrbas, Serbia, Tuesday, August 12, betwixt opponents and supporters of the authorities [File: N1 Serbia via AP]

Protesters person said that authorities supporters attacked them archetypal successful Vrbas and besides further southbound successful Backa Palanka and aboriginal successful Novi Sad and the confederate metropolis of Nis. In Belgrade, riot constabulary pushed distant protesters who gathered successful a downtown area.

Vucic said astatine a quality league connected Wednesday with Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker that pro-democracy protests successful Serbia person been “very convulsive and were convulsive past night”.

Protests have, since November, drawn hundreds of thousands of people, rattling Vucic’s long-running presidency. The Serbian leader’s supporters person precocious started organising counterdemonstrations, fuelling fears of further violence.

Serbia is formally seeking European Union membership, but Vucic has maintained beardown ties with Russia and China, and has been accused of stifling antiauthoritarian freedoms since coming to powerfulness 13 years ago.