Serbian officials said dozens of people were hurt in a second night of clashes between pro- and anti-government demonstrators and police, as the country’s autocratic president and its student-led protest movement accused each other of trying to provoke a civil war.
The violence on Tuesday and Wednesday nights sharply escalated tension between authorities loyal to president Aleksandar Vucic and protesters who have held months of peaceful rallies around Serbia, following the death of 16 people last November when part of a train station roof collapsed in the city of Novi Sad.
Critics of Mr Vucic said the incident and its aftermath laid bare the corruption and cronyism that have flourished since he came to power 13 years ago. He rejects such allegations and claims – without offering evidence – that the protests are orchestrated by shadowy foreign forces that want to oust him and weaken Serbia.
Interior minister Ivica Dacic said 27 police officers and dozens of civilians were hurt in fighting in Belgrade, Novi Sad and other towns and cities on Wednesday night.
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He said police had stopped anti-government protesters attacking local offices of Mr Vucic’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party and his own Socialist Party, and claimed that most of those injured were people defending the parties’ premises.
Anti-government protesters say the authorities have brought thugs and provocateurs on to the street to spark violence that they can use to try to discredit the demonstrators and justify a crackdown on opponents.
“Tonight, the authorities tried through clashes to finally provoke a civil war. The regime has long since decided ... that students and citizens are to blame,” the Blockade group of student protesters said on social media.
“The state leadership is no longer hiding behind phrases about dialogue; the president has launched a purge. The police once again protected the regime’s loyalists, who were throwing stones and launching fireworks at demonstrators,” the group added.
“We won’t allow them to keep destroying people’s lives! Together, until victory – everyone on to the streets!” they wrote, before announcing another protest for Thursday evening.
Mr Vucic praised the police for confronting what he called “blockaders and thugs” and said the country had managed “miraculously” to “preserve peace and ... avoid a catastrophic” scenario.
“The state has enough strength. Tonight, some people thought they could kill people. We will stop any of their attempts to lead us into civil conflict,” he added. “There will be no civil war in Serbia, nor will there be mercy for bandits and hooligans.”
Mr Vucic tries to balance Serbia’s foreign relations between the West, Russia and China, and portrays himself as a guarantor of stability in Serbia and the Balkans, which critics say allows his autocratic regime to escape criticism from European states.
