A student-led movement returned to Belgrade demanding an end to President Aleksandar Vucic’s 12-year rule. Tens of thousands joined the rally in Slavija Square, with many protesters wearing “Students win” T-shirts and carrying Serbian flags or banners naming their towns. The main protest remained mostly peaceful, while later groups of young demonstrators split off and clashed with police. Protesters threw flares, rocks, and bottles, and riot police responded with tear gas and stun grenades to disperse them. Participants called for early parliamentary elections, accused the government of crime and corruption, and demanded the return of the rule of law. Organizers also alleged state rail operators tried to prevent travel to the protest after train cancellations tied to a bomb scare.
"Clashes broke out between groups of demonstrators and police as a student-led movement returned to Serbia's capital Belgrade on Saturday, demanding an end to President Aleksandar Vucic's 12-year rule. The populist leader has been accused by critics of consolidating power and undermining democratic checks and balances. The protest movement erupted some 18 months ago after 16 people were killed when a newly-renovated roof collapsed at a major railway station, blamed on corruption and negligence."
"According to media reports, tens of thousands of people joined the rally, with many protesters wearing T-shirts with the slogan "Students win" or carrying Serbian flags or banners bearing the names of their town or city. While the main protest was mostly peaceful, groups of young demonstrators later split and clashed with police, throwing flares, rocks and bottles. Riot police responded with tear gas and stun grenades as they charged forward to disperse them."
"During the protest, participants called for early parliamentary elections, accused the government of crime and corruption and demanded the return of the rule of law. The protest movement was started by students after a deadly construction disaster in 2024. After trains were canceled in and out of Belgrade, citing a bomb scare, organizers also accused the state rail operator of trying to prevent people from other parts of Serbia from traveling to the protest."
"The rally, in Belgrade's Slavija Square, was the scene of a huge anti-government protest in March 2025 that drew 300,000 people before ending in controversial circumstances. During that rally, the government denied using a sonic weapon against the protesters, which independent experts later confirmed. Student uprising sparked by Novi Sad disaster The student movement emerged after the deadly collapse of a 48-meter concrete canopy at a railway station in Serbia's second-largest c"
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