Serbia Tensions Remain High After Massive Anti-Government Protests

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

BELGRADE (Worthy News) – Tensions remained high in Serbia’s capital Belgrade on Sunday after at least tens of thousands of people demanded elections and rallied against what they view as the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Aleksandar Vučić, with violence erupting after the protest and more than 20 people arrested.

Saturday’s rally was the latest demonstration organized by a student-led movement that emerged after the deadly November 2024 collapse of a railway station canopy in the northern city of Novi Sad.

The disaster killed 16 people, with many Serbians blaming alleged corruption, poor oversight, and negligence by what protesters described as an out-of-touch hardline government.

On Saturday, tens of thousands — and possibly more than 180,000 people — returned to the streets of Belgrade amid broader concerns about Serbia’s future in Europe and demands for political change.

SERBIA POLITICAL UNREST

Protesters accuse authorities of “allowing systemic corruption” and weak oversight to endanger public safety.

Violence erupted after the rally ended when masked stone-throwers clashed with riot police in central Belgrade. Police responded with tear gas as tensions escalated late into the evening, Worthy News observed.

Despite the violence, the protest was widely seen as an effort to breathe new life into a movement that has shaken Serbia’s leadership for months. The student-led protest movement has repeatedly demanded a full investigation into alleged corruption linked to the Novi Sad disaster.

Independent monitoring group Arhiv javnih skupova (AJS), which specializes in estimating crowd sizes, said between 180,000 and 190,000 people attended the rally.

MASSIVE SERBIA PROTESTS

According to AJS, it was “the second-largest protest in Serbia since the overthrow of former strongman President Slobodan Milošević in 2000.”

However, Serbian police gave a much lower estimate, with National police chief Dragan Vasiljevic putting turnout at roughly 34,000 people.

A previous anti-government rally earlier this year reportedly drew between 275,000 and 325,000 people, according to independent estimates.

The demonstrations have become one of the most serious political challenges facingAleksandar Vučić’s government, as Serbia balances its ambitions for closer European ties and European Union membership with accusations of democratic backsliding and growing authoritarianism.

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