Escalating anti-government protests in Serbia continued into late Thursday, as clashes between President Aleksandar Vucic's critics and detractors over corruption accusations led to a second night of violence and arrests.

Novi Sad

Anti-government protests in Serbia have intensified, with demonstrators clashing with police and rival supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party. In Belgrade, fireworks and tear gas were exchanged, while in Novi Sad, protesters ransacked party offices. The unrest is part of a movement that began after a fatal train station collapse, which has become a symbol of alleged government corruption. Protesters are demanding political reforms and early elections, while President Aleksandar Vucic has dismissed the movement as a foreign-backed attempt to destabilize his government.

Serbian rival protester groups clash amid escalating political crisis

Anti-government protesters and police traded fireworks and tear gas in Belgrade Thursday night. In Novi Sad, they ransacked the ruling Serbian Progressive Party's offices. A continuation of nine months of demonstrations, clashes are escalating with these participants demanding changes to their government. I simply think now is the moment where we should all get out and show that we aren't frightened and that their attempts to use violence to stop the people's and students' protests will not work. I think that things are escalating, that they perhaps didn't expect this much resistance, this much energy in the middle of August, which can be a very bad indicator for them. The movement started following the collapse of the Novi Sad train station canopy in November, killing 16 people. The infrastructure failure quickly became a symbol for the endemic corruption plaguing Serbia's government and a protest movement led by students spread throughout the Balkan nation, with some seeing clashes between anti-government and loyalist demonstrators. For these protesters, the risk is worth the reward. I thought the violence was frightening, paralyzing, but something must change as soon as possible. Anti-government protesters are also calling for early elections to end the eight-year-long presidency of Aleksandar Vucic. Meanwhile, the autocratic leader has said that the state will win, and described protesters as enemies of their own country, claiming that they are part of a foreign plot to overthrow his government.

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