BELGRADE: Clashes erupted at protests in Serbia between opponents and supporters of the government in an escalation of tensions following more than nine months of persistent demonstrations against populist President Aleksandar Vucic.
Incidents first started on Tuesday evening in Vrbas, northwest of the capital Belgrade, where riot police separated protesters from the opposed camps outside the ruling Serbian Progressive Party offices in the town.
Video footages from the scene showed government supporters throwing flares, rocks and bottles at the protesters, who hurled back various objects. Police said dozens of people were injured, including 16 policemen. Similar incidents were reported at protests in other parts of the country.
The student-led protests in Serbia first started in November after a train station canopy collapse in the northern city of Novi Sad killed 16 people, triggering accusations of corruption in state infrastructure projects.
Protests have since drawn hundreds of thousands of people, shaking Vucic’s firm grip on power in Serbia. The president’s supporters have recently started organizing counter-demonstrations, fueling fears of violence.
Police said several people were detained after the clashes in Vrbas. Police Commissioner Dragan Vasiljevic told the state RTS television that the protesters “came to attack” the ruling party supporters outside the party offices.
Protesters have said government supporters attacked them first in Vrbas and also further south in Backa Palanka and later in Novi Sad and the southern city of Nis. In Belgrade, riot police pushed away protesters who gathered in a downtown area.
Protests in Serbia since November have been largely peaceful. Led by university students, the protesters are demanding that Vucic calls an early parliamentary election which he has refused. Protesting students have also called for the ouster of Interior Minister Ivica Dacic over recent violence at demonstrations.
Serbia is formally seeking European Union membership but Vucic has maintained strong ties with Russia and China. He has faced accusations of stifling democratic freedoms since coming to power 13 years ago.
Persistent student-led protests against Vucic’s populist government have been held almost daily since November when a fatal train station canopy crash killed 16 people, triggering a wave of anti-corruption

PATRAS: Firefighters battled multiple wildfires across Greece on Wednesday, including blazes threatening villages and towns near the western city of Patras and on two tourist islands.
Fires have burned houses, farms and factories and prompted the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists since Tuesday.
Dozens of people have been taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation since Tuesday, public broadcaster ERT reported. Some 13 firefighters have been treated for burns and other injuries, fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told a televised briefing on Wednesday.
Nearly 5,000 firefighters assisted by 33 aircraft were deployed from dawn to contain the flames stoked by winds and hot, dry conditions near Patras, on the tourist islands of Chios and Zakynthos and in at least three inland spots.
“Today, it will be another very difficult day, as the wildfire risk for most of the country’s regions will be very high,” Vathrakogiannis said. Temperatures were forecast to reach 34 degrees Celsius (93.2 Fahrenheit) in some places.
Flames and dark smoke billowed over a cement factory that was set alight by a wildfire that swept through olive groves and forests and disrupted rail traffic near Patras on Wednesday.
“What it looks like? It looks like doomsday. We came from Athens with our volunteer association Kleisthenis, we can’t do anything more. May God help us and help people here,” said volunteer firefighter Giorgos Karavanis, who was working on the fire near Patras.
Authorities ordered residents of a town of about 7,700 people near Patras to evacuate on Tuesday and issued new alerts on Wednesday, advising residents of two nearby villages to leave their homes.
On the island of Chios, the coast guard used boats to take people to safety on Tuesday as flames reached the shores.
Spain, Portugal, Turkiye and the Balkans have also battled wildfires in recent days as a heatwave pushed temperatures over 40 C (104 F) across parts of Europe. In Albania and Montenegro, wildfires have destroyed houses and possessions since last week.