Serbian Officials and Protesters Trade Blame After Violence

For a fifth night in a row, protests in Serbia were marked by clashes between demonstrators and police – with each side accusing the other of provoking conflict.

Katarina Baletic, August 14, 2025

Numerous members of the public, police officers and soldiers were injured on Wednesday night during another night of protests in Belgrade, Novi Sad and other cities.

Clashes erupted between demonstrators, ruling Serbian Progressive Party activists and police near local headquarters of the ruling party, as they also did on Tuesday. The unrest followed previous clashes during the weekend in the northern Serbian towns of Vrbas and Backi Petrovac.

The clashes represent the latest development in months of student-led protests that erupted last November amid anger over high-level corruption in the wake of the Novi Sad railway station disaster.

Most of the protests again took place in front of local offices of the ruling party, where party activists had gathered.

Riot police officers stand guard during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC

There is still no exact information about the total number of injuries, but dozens of photos and videos on social media showed members of the public who were beaten by the police.

A student protest group from the southern city of Nis said that one student was severely beaten by riot police and later detained. They published a video on X of riot police surrounding the student and beating him, with one of the policemen striking his neck with his elbow.

Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic in a press release on Wednesday night condemned “an attack on the state”, claiming the protesters had attacked the police for no reason.

“There are many injured citizens, six injured police officers. Those who were heading toward the offices of the Serbian Progressive Party – the blockers, the demonstrators – were attacking both citizens and the police without any reason,” Dacic said.

He insisted the police had responded with minimal force, adding that those who had attacked the police would be detained for 48 hours.

Anti-government protesters stand-off with riot police officers during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC

Videos and photos published by the media and members of the public show various incidents in which police can be seen attacking and pushing people, including women, and beating people on the ground.

Andrej Vucic, brother of President Aleksandar Vucic, was filmed entering a pro-government tent camp that was set up in the centre of Belgrade near the National Assembly in March.

Andrej Vucic was filmed there calling the demonstrators “Ustase”, a pejorative expression referring to World War II Croatian fascists who killed tens of thousands of Serbs in concentration camps. In recent months, the ruling party has routinely used the term to slur opponents of President Vucic’s regime.

Anti-government protesters stand-off with riot police officers during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC

Student protest organisers, meanwhile, blamed the government and police for the night of violence.

“Tonight, the authorities tried through clashes to finally provoke a civil conflict,” protest organisers Students Blockade wrote on Instagram, adding that “the regime has long since determined the culprit – the students and the citizens are to blame”.

“The state leadership no longer hides behind phrases about dialogue; the President has announced a purge,” they added. “The police once again protected the regime’s loyalists, who were throwing stones and launching fireworks at the demonstrators.” They called for renewed protests.

A protester holds a banner reading ‘Truth’ during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC

Students Blockade also called attention to one incident in Novi Sad where fireworks were used against members of the public and a man was seen pointing a gun into the sky.

After a video of the man with the gun spread on social media, the director of the Military Security Agency, Lieutenant General Djuro Jovanovic, on Thursday identified him as Vladimir Brkusanin, a member of the army’s Kobra unit, responsible for the close protection of officials.

Jovanovic added that seven Kobra members had been injured in the protests in Novi Sad, four of them seriously.

Brkusanin said later at a press conference that he and his colleagues were attacked on Wednesday night in Novi Sad by nearly 100 people, and he had fired his gun into the air when he felt their lives were in danger.

“At the moment when they surrounded us from three sides, with a wall behind us, I assessed that my life and the lives of my colleagues were in danger. I used a firearm and fired a shot into the air in a safe direction. At that moment, the attackers scattered,” he said.

A protester holds a banner reading ‘Your hands are bloodied’ during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13 2025. Photo: EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC

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