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Serbian police use teargas to disperse anti-government protesters
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on September 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
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Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on September 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Serbian police used teargas in Novi Sad to disperse protesters demanding elections to oust President Vucic amid corruption allegations.
NOVI SAD, Serbia (Reuters) -Serbia's police on Friday used teargas and stun grenades at a university campus in Novi Sad to disperse protesters who demanded snap vote they hope would oust president Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) .
On Friday evening thousands gathered at the state university campus, they held banners reading "We don't want blockades, we want elections," and "Students have one urgent demand: Call elections."
The crowd shouted "Vucic leave."
Protesters scuffled with the police in front of the philosophy faculty and threw flares while police used teargas and stun grenades to push the crowd away.
Months of protests across Serbia, including blockades of the state universities, sparked by the deaths of 16 people last November killed when the roof on a renovated railway station collapsed, have rattled Vucic and his SNS party.
Protests were mainly peaceful until August 13 when dozens of police officers and civilians were injured in clashes.
Protesters have blamed corruption for the Novi Sad railway station disaster and are demanding early elections in hopes of ousting Vucic and his party.
Students, opposition groups, and anti-corruption watchdogs have accused Vucic and his allies of ties to organized crime, using violence against political rivals, and suppressing media freedoms - allegations they deny.
"The solution is to call elections," Nebojsa Korac one of the protesters said.
"On our side, we want peace and democracy to prevail, and for political institutions to do their job. That means calling elections, and that will be the solution, because the government will change."
(Reporting by Fedja Grulovic and Branko Filipovic; Writing by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Alistair Bell)
The protests were sparked by the deaths of 16 people last November when the roof of a renovated railway station collapsed, leading to accusations of corruption.
Protesters are demanding early elections in hopes of ousting President Vucic and his party, as well as addressing issues of corruption and media suppression.
Police used teargas and stun grenades to disperse the crowd after protesters clashed with officers and threw flares.
Protesters held banners stating 'We don't want blockades, we want elections' and shouted 'Vucic leave.'
The protests involve students, opposition groups, and anti-corruption watchdogs who accuse Vucic and his allies of ties to organized crime and political violence.
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