AFP on Serbia: Situation Escalated, Offices of Nationalist President Vučić Set on Fire
Clashes between protesters and police in Serbia broke out for the fifth consecutive night on Saturday, following months of protests against corruption in the country, reports the French news agency AFP, noting that the situation escalated this week when groups of government supporters, often masked, attacked demonstrators. In Valjevo, a city in central Serbia, thousands of protesters gathered yesterday.
A small group of masked men set fire to empty offices of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of nationalist President Aleksandar Vučić.
They then clashed with the police, throwing stones and fireworks at officers, who responded with stun grenades and tear gas, AFP reports, citing Danas.
Clashes also broke out in Belgrade, where police blocked protesters moving toward the SNS headquarters, as well as in the country’s second-largest city, Novi Sad.
Protests in Serbia have been ongoing since last November, following the collapse of a concrete canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad, which killed 16 people.
Demonstrations in Serbia led by students have so far been largely peaceful.
They have been held across the country and have drawn up to several hundred thousand people.
The situation escalated this week when groups of government supporters, often masked, attacked demonstrators.
Both sides accuse each other of provocations aimed at escalating the situation.
