Overview

• Anti-government protesters and pro-government supporters staged parallel rallies in multiple cities, with police separating the groups and only brief scuffles reported in Belgrade.
• Vučić rejected calls for snap elections as authorities pursued a tougher approach that has included riot police deployments, arrests and the dismissal of more than 100 academics.
• The student-led movement began after a Nov. 1, 2024 station canopy collapse in Novi Sad that killed 16 and fueled anger over alleged corruption tied to a Chinese-backed renovation.
• Tanks rolled through the capital ahead of a Sept. 20 military parade, a display protesters say heightens tensions around the standoff.
• In a new TV interview, Vučić claimed foreign intelligence services are financing the protests with $4 billion to destabilize Serbia.