The Gendarmerie's operation to disperse protesters on Belgrade's King Aleksandra Boulevard has ended in the area near the Faculty of Technology, and police vehicles and personnel are withdrawing towards the city center, a Beta agency reporter reported.
A few hundred protesters remained at the Faculty of Law, some of whom are slowly dispersing.
Traffic through Beogradska Street, which intersects King Aleksandra Boulevard, has been partially restored.
(Beta)
The gendarmerie and police with riot gear continued to push back the demonstrators on King Alexander Boulevard, towards the Vuk Monument, while they surrounded about a hundred of them near the Faculty of Law, a Beta agency reporter reported.
On King Aleksandra Boulevard, around midnight, in the general commotion that arose during the police intervention, several containers were set on fire.
The group of protesters surrounded by police in front of the Faculty of Law also includes war veterans who had previously negotiated with the Gendarmerie.
The journalists stayed at the Faculty of Law because they could not move around the square in front of Vuk's Monument due to the police cordon.
During the police action on Kralja Aleksandra Boulevard, the Gendarmerie detained at least seven protesters.
During the action, stones and bottles were thrown at the police from groups of protesters.
(Beta)
Police Director Dragan Vasiljević stated tonight that "several dozen hooligans" were detained in the incidents that occurred in downtown Belgrade, and that six police officers and two citizens were injured in the intervention.
At a press conference, Vasiljević said that they are still in the Emergency Center and that the extent of their injuries has not yet been determined.
Vasiljević said that the police reacted after the participants of the rally attacked the police cordon protecting the gathering near Pioneer Park.
"After the rally at Slavija ended, a large number of citizens headed towards Pionirski Park. At one point, they removed the fences and headed towards the police cordon. They clearly saw that police officers were in the cordon, and they warned them not to approach. Despite all this, several hundred of them headed towards the cordon and attacked the police officers," he said.
The police director said that the intervention was carried out exclusively with the use of physical force and denied that chemical agents were used on that occasion.
"Minimal force was used and everything was professional, to disable those who attack the police," he said, adding that the police will continue to respond "in accordance with the law to all attacks on state bodies."
(Beta)
Students in the blockade said that the government is responsible for radicalization after a protest called by them on Saturday in Belgrade.
"The government had all the mechanisms and all the time to fulfill the demands and prevent escalation. Instead, they opted for violence and repression against citizens. Any radicalization of the situation is their responsibility," reads a post by Students in Blockade on the social network Iks.
Police in Belgrade are currently breaking up demonstrations, and several demonstrators have been arrested.
The main demand of the protest was the calling of extraordinary parliamentary elections, which the government rejected.
The gendarmerie began pushing citizens towards the Faculty of Law on King Aleksandra Boulevard at around 23.30:XNUMX p.m. and within ten minutes, they had detained at least seven people, a Beta news agency reporter reported.
The police, in the part of that boulevard near Tašmajda Park, are pushing them back, mainly with shields, and at around 23.45:XNUMX p.m. they reached the intersection near the Faculty of Law.
Protesters are constantly throwing glass bottles and flares at police officers, as well as firing cannons, and occasionally throwing stones.
In the general chaos on King Alexander Boulevard, the gardens of several shops were destroyed and flower pots were overturned.
During the Gendarmerie intervention, some of the demonstrators scattered through the surrounding streets, while others ran to Tašmajdan Park.
(Beta)
A large group of police officers equipped to break up the demonstration ran, probably from the direction of Takovska Street shortly after 23.00:XNUMX PM, towards the intersection near London in downtown Belgrade, a Beta agency reporter reported.
Journalists who are on King Alexander Boulevard cannot, due to the police cordon, pass by the House of the National Assembly of Serbia and the Pioneer Park across the street, to see the reason for the deployment of the new police squad.
At the intersection near London and at the beginning of nearby Masaryk Street, there are also police cordons equipped to break up demonstrations.
There are still many citizens in the part of King Alexander Boulevard who came there mainly after the protest held at the call of students on nearby Slavija Square, where early elections were the main demand.
Since it was not accepted, the students declared the Serbian government illegitimate. According to the Archive of Public Assemblies, there were about 140.000 people at that rally.
(Beta)
Several ambulances passed by the intersection of Kralja Milana and Resavska streets, Radio Free Europe (RFE) reporters report.
An RFE/RL reporter spotted a woman with a broken head who was taken away by ambulance.
The Chief Public Prosecutor of the Belgrade Higher Public Prosecutor's Office, Nenad Stefanović, said that all those who attacked members of the police and Serbian institutions at tonight's protest in Belgrade will be identified and prosecuted in accordance with the law.
He said in a statement that the competent authorities have repeatedly warned protest participants and other citizens that violence will not be tolerated, as will attacks on state institutions, their representatives and other citizens.
He reiterated his appeal to citizens not to resort to violence and to exercise their right to peaceful assembly in accordance with the Constitution and laws, the VJP stated on its website.
(Beta)
As a Radio Free Europe (RFE) reporter reports, a police cordon is pushing back demonstrators gathered at the intersection of Kneza Miloša Street and Kralja Milana Street in Belgrade.
Clashes between some demonstrators and the police broke out before and after the official end of the student protest at Slavija Square.
Radio Free Europe (RSE) has released a video showing what the streets of Belgrade looked like in the last few hours.
The Gendarmerie began to suppress the demonstrators who had gathered on King Aleksandar Boulevard, near the Church of St. Mark.
According to N1, several people have been arrested. Clashes between protesters and the Gendarmerie are also ongoing on nearby Resavska Street.
Armored vehicles of the Gendarmerie also moved towards the demonstrators.
(Radio Free Europe)
Police have suppressed demonstrators in several locations in Belgrade, reports a Radio Free Europe (RFE) reporter.
Some demonstrators threw various objects at the cordon at Kralja Milan, and a cannon shot rang out.
Police disperse demonstrators both at Masarikova Street and near Cvetni trg in Slavija.
(Radio Free Europe)
After tonight's citizen demonstrations at the call of students in Belgrade, two police cordons at the intersection of Kneza Miloša and Kralja Milana streets - near London stopped a column of students and citizens leaving Slavija Square in that direction.
One police cordon is between the building housing Apoteka Beograd and the supermarket across the street, on Kralja Milana Street, while the second cordon is set up on the same street across the street, at the pedestrian crossing near the former Aik Bank building.
The police are equipped with shields, helmets with visors, and batons.
At around 22.30:XNUMX p.m., another police cordon went down Kneza Miloša Street to Masarikova Street to prevent those trying to pass from the direction of Slavija.
Almost simultaneously, a police "marca" arrived behind a cordon set up between the building housing the Apoteka Beograd and the supermarket across the street.
Demonstrators are making noise and chanting against Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, a Beta news agency reporter reported.
Some of the demonstrators turned left onto Kneza Miloša Street and continued towards the Government of Serbia, and right onto Kraljice Natalije Street.
Meanwhile, folk music continues to echo from the direction of Pioneer Park, where students are protesting against the faculty blockades.
In front of the Presidency building, as well as in front of the nearby park, and in front of the City Assembly (Old Palace), there is also a metal fence behind which there are police.
In the part of Kralja Milana Street, from the intersection near London towards Terazije, there were several dozen citizens, and at around 22.45:XNUMX pm it was completely quiet.
(Beta)
Several thousand protesters are still in front of the Gendarmerie cordon on King Aleksandra Boulevard, near the Church of St. Mark, reports a Radio Free Europe (RFE) reporter.
The gendarmerie had earlier called on the crowd to disperse, which the demonstrators refused.
(Radio Free Europe)
The Archive of Public Gatherings announced that, according to preliminary estimates, around 140.000 people were in Belgrade tonight at the protest called by students "See you on Vidovdan".
On the social network X, the organization stated that the final estimate could differ from the preliminary one by up to ten percent.
The Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) previously announced that there were around 36.000 people at the student protest on Slavija Square, three times fewer than on March 15th.
As stated in the statement, this is a similar number of participants as at the gathering of the same organizers on December 22nd last year.
(Beta)
Clashes between some demonstrators and the police broke out on the eve of and after the official end of the student protest at Slavija Square in Belgrade, Radio Free Europe (RFE) reported.
The police, as reported by N1, fired tear gas on Kneza Miloša Street near the General Staff building.
Some of the crowd threw stones, bottles and other objects at the police, and the police responded with tear gas.
An RFE/RL reporter reported that groups of masked men clashed with police near St. Mark's Church.
They threw bottles and flares at the police, and several cannon shots were also fired.
The police intervened, and an RFE/RL reporter saw at least one protester being detained.
Hundreds of police officers in riot gear are on the scene, as well as Gendarmerie units with armored vehicles.
Those gathered shouted insults at Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
N1 reported that clashes also occurred on King Aleksandra Boulevard, after students in the blockade announced the end of the protest.
The official end of the protest was announced over the loudspeakers at Slavija Square at around 21:45 p.m.
"From this moment on, this is no longer a student protest. We remain here as citizens. This struggle is not just a student one. Today, we are all demanding elections. We will all rise up and we will all win," a recorded message broadcast over the loudspeaker said.
The message states that students will control the elections "like never before."
Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić, in a statement, strongly condemned "the attacks by participants of an unregistered rally at Slavija on members of the Ministry of Interior."
He said that he would take all measures to establish public order and peace, and that all those who attacked the police would be prosecuted.
"The police will take all measures to establish public order and peace, repel all attacks and apply all powers to repel attacks, and arrest all those who attacked the police," Dacic said.
(MINE)
The police cordon, which was set up near the camp of supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in front of the Serbian Parliament, has withdrawn down Kneza Miloša Street, reports a Radio Free Europe (RFE) reporter.
Music can still be heard from the loudspeakers in the camp, and in the front rows, right next to the protective fence, are their guards in orange vests.
(Radio Free Europe)
After tonight's citizen demonstrations at the call of students in Belgrade, two police cordons at the intersection of Kneza Miloša and Kralja Milana streets - near London stopped a column of students and citizens leaving Slavija Square in that direction.
One police cordon is between the building housing Apoteka Beograd and the supermarket across the street, on Kralja Milana Street, while the second cordon is set up on the same street across the street, at the pedestrian crossing near the former Aik Bank building.
The police are equipped with shields, helmets with visors, and batons.
Demonstrators are making noise and chanting against Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, a Beta news agency reporter reported.
Some of the demonstrators turned left onto Kneza Miloša Street and continued towards the Government of Serbia, and right onto Kraljice Natalije Street.
Meanwhile, folk music echoes from the direction of Pioneer Park, where students are opposing the faculty blockades, and there is a crowd of citizens in front of the park.
In front of the Presidency building, as well as in front of the nearby park, and in front of the City Assembly (Old Palace), there is also a metal fence behind which there are police.
(Beta)
A Gendarmerie cordon has been set up on King Aleksandra Boulevard in Belgrade. The unit's armored vehicles are also there.
One of the Gendarmerie members called on the gathered citizens with a megaphone to disperse, otherwise, they said, they would react, reports N1.
The citizens are not dispersing for now. Those gathered have formed a "human chain", holding hands in front of the cordon.
Chants of "Arrest Vučić" can be heard.
(Radio Free Europe)
Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said tonight that participants in the rally on Belgrade's Slavija Square attacked police officers and added that all those who participated will be prosecuted.
"I strongly condemn the brutal attacks by participants of the unregistered rally at Slavija on police officers. The police will take all measures to establish public order and peace, repel all attacks and apply all powers to repel attacks, and arrest all those who attacked the police," Dačić said.
Members of the Gendarmerie intervened this evening shortly before 22 pm in downtown Belgrade against a group of young men who, after the end of a citizen protest at the call of students, threw flares and firecrackers at them.
A few minutes after the end of the rally titled "See you on St. Vid's Day" was declared, and after the student security personnel left the area on King Aleksandra Boulevard near the Czech Embassy, there was a brief intervention.
A Beta news agency reporter reported that at least several participants in the incident were arrested.
(Beta)
Bonus video:
