Serbs against Serbs: violent clashes between protesters and supporters of the government took place in the country

Violent clashes between protesters and police and supporters of the authorities took place in several cities of Serbia. Dozens of people were injured in Novi Sad and Belgrade. Among the injured are law enforcement officers and soldiers of the Serbian special forces "Cobra". The authorities accuse the demonstrators of "attacking the state," while the protesters speak of "provoking a civil war." Against the background of these events, President Alexander Vucic said that after two terms as head of state, he would not change the Constitution and run for office. He promised to hold parliamentary elections ahead of schedule, as the opposition and the protesters insist. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

Opponents of the authorities against supporters

"At least 42 police officers were injured, the most in Belgrade. Some were seriously injured — arms and legs were broken, there were blows," said Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, calling the incident an "attack on the state."

According to him, attacks on police are still ongoing in eight to nine places in Serbia. He did not specify where exactly they occur. Dacic added that law enforcement officers had detained 37 activists.

The Interior minister is confident that "there is no reason to talk about peaceful student protests anymore," calling on Serbs to disperse from the streets, and those who were attacked to refrain from retaliatory actions.

The protesters themselves reported on social media that "the authorities wanted to provoke a civil war with conflicts and clashes."

Earlier, President Aleksandar Vucic said that protests had been held in several Serbian cities at once. The most numerous of them are in Belgrade and Novi Sad. The main target of the activists were the branches of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, where numerous supporters of the authorities had previously arrived. The protests quickly turned violent. More than 60 citizens and 16 police officers were injured in the clashes in the capital.

The Head of State stressed that during the demonstrations, activists used various objects and weapons, including batons, sticks and stones. At first, the police did not interfere in the clashes between activists who had taken up defense in party offices and protesters. However, after a while, the guards tried to separate the opposing sides, and then began to push back the demonstrators with tear gas and other special means.

Protests in Serbia broke out in November 2024, after a 50—meter canopy made of concrete, metal and glass collapsed in the city of Novi Sad. As a result, 16 people died, including three children. Since then, protests have been going on in the country for nine months. At first, the activists demanded to punish those responsible for the incident, but gradually their slogans changed. Now they insist on Alexander Vucic's resignation, the dissolution of parliament and the appointment of early parliamentary elections.

Operation Successor

Yesterday, Vucic said he would not change the Constitution of Serbia and would no longer run for president after his second term. He also added that parliamentary elections will be held in the country ahead of schedule — this is what the protesters and the opposition are seeking.

"I am not a dictator, I am ending my presidential career in a year and a half. Will I help someone succeed in the [presidential] elections? Yes, absolutely, I will do it. And from what position is not a topic for discussion right now," he said, hinting at the emergence of a possible successor.

The opposition believes that the president can help a politician close to him take the place of the head of state in order to sit in the prime minister's chair himself, in whose hands, according to the basic law, great power is concentrated. The president did not name a possible successor. However, local media noticed that at the end of July, Vucic unexpectedly visited the country's ex-president Tomislav Nikolic.

He served one term in office and in 2017 lost the right to run for president to his party member Vucic.

What do the experts think

Milan Lazovich, program manager of the Russian Council on International Affairs (RIAC), noted in an interview with Izvestia that the protest rallies had become radicalized.

— There are real clashes with the police, provocations. As a result, the number of injured and injured is increasing. There is a strong feeling that the demonstrators are trying in every possible way to force the authorities, who had previously acted very cautiously, to apply a harsh forceful scenario to suppress the riots. This is a provocation designed to show the "authoritarianism of the regime," corruption and "suppression of freedoms," the political scientist is convinced.

In his opinion, there is a threat to Vucic's power, and it is quite serious.

— The Serbian protest has ceased to be peaceful, everything is on the path of escalation, it can lead to a big explosion and total unrest throughout the country. The authorities need to be very careful, not to make sudden and rash decisions, and to be consistent. It would be advisable to raise the issue in the international arena, for example, in the United Nations, to attract the attention of the international community, the countries of the Global South and the world majority," the expert believes.

The expert believes that Vucic will have to make certain compromises, but he will do it precisely.

— Priority measures should be taken in the real fight against corruption. As for early presidential elections, I don't see any grounds for that yet. Democratic procedures must be followed. The president should not be elected "on the street", during street protests. It is premature to judge the possible successor of Alexander Vucic, and how he will be accepted by the people," the analyst concluded.

Oleg Bondarenko, the editor-in-chief of the Balkanist project, noted in a conversation with Izvestia that there had never been such riots in the modern history of Serbia.

— This is an unprecedented story, these riots are not between the police and the protesters, but between different groups of citizens, between supporters and opponents of Aleksandar Vucic. This is certainly scary and unprecedented. We have seen several lynching cases in recent days, when protesters simply beat Vucic's supporters with batons and sticks, we have seen reprisals," the political scientist said.

According to him, the police are sorely lacking, because it is obvious that they are mainly concentrated in Belgrade, while riots are taking place in other cities, primarily in Novi Sad.

— Vucic is in a very difficult situation.: He needs to restrain himself from being overthrown, because even attempts at a violent scenario on the part of the protesters cannot be ruled out. The authorities must show force, for this they need to arrest all the instigators of these riots and do it as soon as possible — within the next forty—eight hours," the expert believes.

He added that if this is not done, the protesters, feeling their impunity, will continue the riots.

— They will revel in their strength and will continue to arrange even tougher clashes with Vucic's supporters. I do not rule out that blood will be shed at this rate, and we will see the first victims of these riots, so Vucic can only wish for wisdom," the expert is sure.

The analyst believes that there is no need to talk about any new elections in the conditions of unrest, since the president has already said that he will not change the Constitution.

— By the way, he doesn't have any successor, so it's at least premature to even talk about a successor now. Now it is better to focus on retaining power, because in the last two days in Serbia there have been the most violent violent clashes between citizens. And if they are not stopped, the country may plunge into the abyss of civil conflict," the Balkanist concluded.