{"id":51711,"date":"2025-08-16T23:48:49","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T03:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/serbia-ruling-party-offices-set-on-fire-in-protests\/16\/08\/2025\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T23:48:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T03:48:49","slug":"serbia-ruling-party-offices-set-on-fire-in-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/serbia-ruling-party-offices-set-on-fire-in-protests\/16\/08\/2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Serbia ruling party offices set on fire in protests"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Fresh clashes erupted between anti-government protesters and riot police across Serbia in the fifth night of unrest in a row, after offices of the the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) were set on fire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Police in Valjevo reportedly used stun grenades and tear gas on protesters after a small group of masked people attacked the empty facilities of the SNS, setting them on fire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">There were widespread allegations of violence and police brutality in the capital, Belgrade, and Novi Sad. Serbia&#8217;s interior ministry has denied these allegations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It comes as Russia pledged to shore up the beleaguered pro-Moscow President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107, who leads the SNS, saying it would not &#8220;remain unresponsive&#8221;.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Anti-government protesters break the windows of the offices of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party [Reuters]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The protests were initially triggered by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c0qdyg8yn5yo?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:a railway station collapse in Novi Sad;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">a railway station collapse in Novi Sad<\/a> in November last year, with Serbians demanding an early election and the end to President Aleksander Vu\u010di\u0107&#8217;s 12-year reign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">While anti-corruption demonstrations have drawn in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cx2g8v32q30o?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:hundreds of thousands of protestors;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">hundreds of thousands of protestors<\/a>, they had been largely peaceful until Wednesday&#8217;s clash, when pro-government loyalists staged counter-demonstrations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">On Saturday night, riot police were again deployed in a number of cities including Belgrade as people took part in demonstrations to demand early elections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Offices and flags representing Vu\u010di\u0107&#8217;s SNS party had been a focus of the protesters&#8217; anger.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Protesters also smashed the windows of the headquarters of the Serbian Radical Party, a coalition partner of the ruling SNS.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In the past week, injuries have been reported at protests across the country and unverified video has circulated on social media of police beating a man in Valjevo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Michael O&#8217;Flaherty, the Council of Europe&#8217;s Commissioner for Human Rights, raised concern on Friday over the &#8220;police&#8217;s disproportionate force&#8221; in Serbia, urging authorities to &#8220;end arbitrary arrests and de-escalate the situation&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Vu\u010di\u0107 responded to Saturday&#8217;s developments on Instagram, writing that &#8220;violence is an expression of total weakness&#8221; and promising to &#8220;punish the bullies.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He has repeatedly rejected calls for early elections and denounced the demonstrations as part of a foreign plot to overthrow him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Russia&#8217;s Foreign Ministry has offered their support to the pro-Moscow right-wing president.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In a statement the ministry said that &#8220;we cannot remain unresponsive to what is happening in brotherly Serbia.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The statement said that police were &#8220;using lawful methods and means to contain the violent mobs&#8221; and that &#8220;public order, security, and human lives&#8221; were at risk.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Almost daily protests have gripped Serbia since November, after the collapse of the Novi Sad railway station roof that killed 16 people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The tragedy became a symbol of entrenched corruption in the Balkan country, with initial calls for transparent probes growing into demands for early elections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">At their peak, the protests drew hundreds of thousands on to the streets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/serbia-ruling-party-offices-set-030429868.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fresh clashes erupted between anti-government protesters and riot police across Serbia in the fifth night of unrest in a row, after offices<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/serbia-ruling-party-offices-set-on-fire-in-protests\/16\/08\/2025\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/2qzqHGxSPwR0YJDqG4eb6A--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD02NzU7Y2Y9d2VicA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/bd03f4e29115ea34e55620a6cf9af793","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51711"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}