Aleksandar Vucic

Thousands joined protest marches in several Serbian towns on Wednesday reflecting persistent resistance to autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic's rule despite a government crackdown. Crowds gathered to mark 11 months since a concrete canopy collapsed in a northern Serbian city that killed 16 people and triggered a major anti-government movement. Protesters believe that the crash at the renovated train station in Novi Sad resulted from graft-fuelled negligence in construction projects. The building's renovation was part of a wider railway overhaul with Chinese companies. Holding up lights on their phones, the protesters in Belgrade walked in silence to honour the victims who included children. Huge crowds also gathered in Novi Sad, braving heavy rain falling in the city. No incidents were reported, unlike at previous several demonstrations when riot police used tear gas against the protesters. University students - a main force behind the rallies - are demanding justice in the Nov

Tens of thousands of people swarmed the streets in Serbia's capital Belgrade on Friday, staging a joyful prelude to a major anti-government rally on the weekend and dealing a blow to populist President Aleksandar Vucic. The citizens of Belgrade came out to welcome thousands of university students who converged on Belgrade from across the country for the rally planned for Saturday that is expected to draw even more people. Saturday's protest is seen as a culmination of months of anti-graft demonstrations in the Balkan country that have posed the biggest challenge so far for Vucic's decade-long firm grip on power in Serbia. Flares, fireworks and flag-waving crowds filled the downtown streets in stark contrast to weeks of fear-mongering spread by Vucic's populists with an aim to dissuade people from attending the rally on Saturday. The autocratic leader has repeatedly warned that violence is planned at the rally and threatened arrests over any incidents. Vucic's supporters have been .

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