Photo: BNT
Tensions escalated on Monday evening during a protest outside the headquarters of the “DPS – New Beginning” party in central Sofia, where police and demonstrators clashed, vehicles were damaged and several people were injured, authorities said.
Riot police reinforced the area around the party offices on Vrabcha Street after a group of masked individuals dressed in black were seen among the protesters, triggering confrontations. Protesters threw plastic and glass bottles at the building. Police used tear gas to push back the crowd, witnesses said.
Emergency services deployed eight ambulances to the scene. Three people were treated on-site earlier in the evening, and five others sought medical assistance at Tsaritsa Yoanna–ISUL University Hospital for trauma or gas inhalation, the emergency medical centre said. A member of a BNT technical crew was also injured during the escalation.
More than 10 people were detained, according to Sofia’s police directorate (SDVR). Two police officers were injured, one suffering a broken leg and another a head injury.
The protest, which began shortly before 6 p.m. at the “Triangle of Power” in the city centre as part of demonstrations against the 2026 draft budget, later marched to the DPS offices. Some protesters had called for the march to continue to the GERB party headquarters, but the group did not proceed further. Chants of “Mafia,” “corruption” and “resign” were heard, as fireworks and other pyrotechnics were launched.
The Interior Ministry said Minister Daniel Mitov and the leadership of the ministry and SDVR were monitoring the situation but would refrain from political comments. Police were taking “all necessary actions” to identify individuals responsible for arson and assaults on public property, the ministry said in a statement.