Tens of thousands protested in Belgrade against President Vucic, demanding accountability for a deadly railway station collapse. Riot police, veterans, and bikers faced off with demonstrators in a tense standoff, as student-led rallies continue to challenge the government.
Serbian anti-corruption protesters, riot police, and supporters of President Aleksandar Vucic faced off in central Belgrade on Saturday as tens of thousands of people turned out for massive anti-government rallies following a night of sporadic clashes.
Police deployed hundreds of officers in full riot gear in and around Pionirski Park, where supporters of Vucic have camped this week inside a ring of parked tractors.
Across the street, hundreds of veterans from elite military brigades in maroon berets and bikers who pledge allegiance to the students lined up along the route where protesters were due to march from 4 p.m. (15:00 GMT) in front of the national parliament to Slavija Square. The bikers paraded slowly, revving their engines.
Students also deployed hundreds of security guards from their own ranks, clad in fluorescent yellow vests, and positioned them between police and protesters.
Near-daily student protests began in December following the deaths of 15 people when a roof at a railway station collapsed on November 1 in the northern city of Novi Sad, a disaster opponents blame on corruption under Vucic.
Students, teachers, farmers, and workers have joined the demonstrations in a major challenge to Vucic, a populist who has been in power for 12 years as prime minister or president.
Last December, students issued a set of demands that include the release of documents related to the railway station disaster, and accountability for those responsible.
Thousands of marching students, many travelling hundreds of miles on foot or by bike, descended on Serbia's capital late on Friday ahead of Saturday's rally.
Tension and sporadic violence continued overnight and into Saturday.
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Thousands of protesters marched through Belgrade on Wednesday night, nearly a year after a deadly station collapse sparked a nationwide anti-government movement.
Human rights groups have accused the Serbian government of using a sonic weapon to disperse a massive protest in Belgrade. However, the authorities have denied these claims, stating that their security forces did not deploy a sonic weapon to intimidate protesters at the anti-government rally.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned that the Russia-Ukraine war is now threatening trade in the Black Sea.
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North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea, according to South Korea and Japan, as regional diplomacy and security concerns remain in focus.
The United States launched an overnight military operation in Venezuela and captured its long-serving President Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump said, pledging to place the country under temporary American control and signalling that U.S. forces could be deployed if necessary.
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss the U.S. operation in Venezuela.
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Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has urged U.S. President Donald Trump to abandon threats to take over Greenland, following comments he made in an interview with The Atlantic.
Spain and five Latin American countries – Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay – have jointly condemned the U.S. military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Residents in Catia La Mar, near Caracas, say homes were damaged or destroyed during a U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, with authorities reporting an unspecified number of deaths.
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