Shielded riot police barricaded themselves inside Belgrade’s city hall as they fired tear gas at hundreds of opposition supporters who were trying to enter the building.
The demonstrators had gathered in the Serbian capital on Sunday as they called for the annulment of parliamentary and local elections which took place last weekend.
International observers said the election was unfair.
Some demonstrators threw flares at police and broke windows near the entrance of the building while others shouted “open the door” and “thieves” during Sunday night’s disorder. They also pelted the building with eggs.
Some chanted “Vucic is Putin,” comparing the Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic with Russia’s leader.
Image: Demonstrators smashed the glass of one of the doors of Belgrade’s city hall
Later, the police pushed the crowd from the downtown area and made several arrests. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Mr Vucic, who has said claims of voting irregularities during the elections were blatant “lies” promoted by the political opposition, called the protesters “thugs” as he addressed the nation during the disorder in Belgrade.
He added that they would not succeed in destabilising the state and said: “This is not a revolution.
“They will not succeed.”
Image: A protester throws a flare at police
Image: Riot police protected themselves with shields during the disorder
Image: Riot police barricaded themselves inside city hall
Mr Vucic added that “we are doing our best with our calm and mild reaction not to hurt demonstrators” who came to the event to protest peacefully.
The populist president also suggested the unrest was instigated from abroad as the country’s authorities denied rigging the vote and described the election to fill parliament and local offices as fair.
Results from the 17 December election showed victory for Mr Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party in both the parliamentary and Belgrade city ballots.
Remember when that composer at the coronation had to come out and say he wasn't Meghan Markle in disguise?Well, 2023 was full of hilarious, jaw-dropping and laugh-out-loud moments just like that. We've rounded up some of our favourites.Harry's virginity Prince Harry really did tell all in his tell-all memoir which was released in January.While there were several note-worthy revelations (the Nazi costume apparently not being all his fault, "Willy" calling […]
Post comments (0)