Protest against Serbia's government Vucic opponents occupy three Danube bridges

dpa

1.2.2025 - 22:51

Even before the protests, traffic in Serbia's second-largest city was severely restricted and there were long traffic jams.
Even before the protests, traffic in Serbia's second-largest city was severely restricted and there were long traffic jams.
Bild: Keystone

Sad anniversary of the Novi Sad accident: Exactly three months ago, the roof of the train station there collapsed, killing 15 people. The protesters see this as a failure of the state.

DPA

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  • Three months after the collapse of a train station canopy that killed 15 people in Novi Sad, tens of thousands of people have once again protested in the Serbian city against the abuses in the country.
  • The demonstrators blocked three important bridges over the Danube from 3 p.m. and wanted to keep them occupied for at least three hours, one of them even for 24 hours.
  • The demonstrators waved flags, held up posters and chanted slogans.

Thousands of people have occupied three Danube bridges in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad in protest against the government controlled by President Aleksandar Vucic. The reason for this is the collapse of the station canopy in this city exactly three months ago, which killed 15 people. The protesters blame the government and state apparatus for the accident. In their view, corruption and incompetence were the cause. One of the three bridges was to remain occupied by demonstrators for 24 hours, they said.

The day before, hundreds of young people from Belgrade had already walked the more than 60 kilometers to Novi Sad and were greeted and fed by the population at their stations. It was a new form of the mass protests that have been going on for months as a result of the accident. Even Prime Minister Milos Vucevic's resignation could not calm the anger of the people.

Outgoing prime minister calls on government camp to exercise restraint

Outgoing Prime Minister Vucevic called on supporters of the ruling party and other opponents of the protests not to approach the demonstrators in order to avoid incidents, reported the Belgrade news agency Tanjug. Meanwhile, President Vucic is faced with the decision of appointing a new prime minister or bringing forward new elections.

Since the accident at Novi Sad railroad station, many people in Serbia have been demonstrating almost daily. Their main complaint is that the authorities and the judiciary are not ensuring transparency regarding the causes of this accident.