San Francisco Frontiers - Serbia's political crisis escalates into clashes

A wave of anti-corruption protests has gripped Serbia since November, when the collapse of the Novi Sad railway station roof killed 16 people, a tragedy widely blamed on entrenched corruption.

Anti-graft protesters again gathered in several cities across Serbia late Wednesday.

That was mainly in response to a previous attack by ruling party supporters on demonstrators in the town of Vrbas, about 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of the capital Belgrade.

For the second night running, large groups of pro-government supporters, most wearing masks, confronted protesters. The two groups hurled bottles, stones and fireworks at each other.

Police arrested nearly 50 people across the country, and around 30 riot police were injured.

The worst violence was reported in parts of Belgrade and Novi Sad, where the protest movement first began.

One man, later identified as a military police officer, fired a pistol into the air as protesters approached the ruling party's offices in Novi Sad, causing panic.

Footage also showed supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party launching fireworks at protesters gathered outside the party's headquarters there.

Police intervened with tear gas, and stun grenades could also be heard.

-'Intensifying crackdown'-

Frustrated with government inaction, protesters have demanded an investigation into the Novi Sad tragedy and piled pressure on right-wing President Aleksandar Vucic to call early elections.

Over the past nine months, thousands of mostly peaceful, student-led demonstrations have been held, some attracting hundreds of thousands.

This week's violence however marks a significant escalation and indicates the increasing strain on Vucic's populist government, in power for 13 years.

Since June 28, when around 140,000 demonstrators gathered in Belgrade, the government has responded with an "intensifying crackdown" on activists, according to a statement by UN human rights experts released earlier this month.

Protesters and those linked to the movement have faced a "troubling pattern of repression" including excessive police force, intimidation and arbitrary arrest, the experts said.

Vucic has remained defiant, repeatedly rejecting calls for early elections and denouncing the demonstrations as part of a foreign plot to overthrow him.

- The gun incident -

Following the Novi Sad shooting incident, officials confirmed the man was a member of a special military police unit, usually tasked with protecting government ministers.

He had fired his weapon while "on a routine assignment when attacked by about 100 people", officials said.

The officer, Vladimir Brkusanin, told journalists on Thursday: "I used my firearm and fired a shot into the air in a safe direction. At that moment, the attackers scattered."

Footage widely shared online showed a man wearing a black t-shirt and no clear military insignia pointing a pistol into the air near protesters.

He also appeared to be carrying a shield.

Military officials said that seven members of the same military police unit had also been injured, while on duty to "protect a specific person", but gave no further details.

Student protesters accused the police of protecting pro-government supporters while doing little to stop the attacks on their own gatherings.

"The authorities tried to provoke a civil war last night," the students wrote on their official Instagram page.

They announced further protests for Thursday night.

Vucic, who visited pro-government encampments overnight, denied his supporters had started the violence.

"No one attacked them anywhere," he said of the anti-government protesters, speaking at a late-night press conference.

"They went everywhere to attack those who think differently," he added.

While the protests have so far led to the resignation of the prime minister and the collapse of his cabinet, Vucic remains at the helm of a reshuffled government.

U.Campbell--SFF