Serbia tensions boil as riot police separate president’s opponents and loyalists
Rival crowds face off in Serbia’s capital as the national mood remains tense a year after a deadly railway station disaster
Hundreds of riot police separated opponents and loyalists of Serbia’s autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic in central Belgrade on Sunday as political tensions boiled after a year of persistent anti-government protests.
Several thousand people faced off on both sides of the police cordons with officers in full gear standing in several rows between the shouting crowds who threw bottles, flares and stun grenades.
Tensions in Belgrade soared a day after tens of thousands of people joined a huge rally in the northern city of Novi Sad that marked the first anniversary of a railway station disaster there which killed 16 people, and triggered a youth-led movement demanding political changes, which has challenged Vucic’s firm grip on power.
Anti-government protesters in Belgrade gathered in support of Dijana Hrka, the mother of Stefan Hrka, one of the Novi Sad station tragedy victims. Hrka earlier on Sunday said she was launching a hunger strike near a tent camp outside the parliament building which has been occupied by Vucic’s loyalists since March.
Both police and Vucic on Sunday accused anti-government protesters of attacking his supporters’ camp that he described as a “symbol of freedom”. Protesters said most incidents were caused from within the camp.