Serbia’s Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said late on Thursday that at least five police officers were injured and 14 people arrested during nationwide protests that turned violent in several cities, including Belgrade, Novi Sad, Pančevo and Šabac.
Dačić told reporters that police had come under “massive and brutal attacks” involving sticks, metal bars and stones, and that offices of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) had been vandalised, looted and in some cases set on fire. He said criminal charges would be filed against those detained.
The minister later updated the figures, saying 27 police officers and more than 70 civilians were injured during the unrest, which included damage to five police vehicles. The largest incidents occurred in Novi Sad, where protesters clashed with police and masked men near the Riblja Pijaca market after earlier attacking SNS offices.
Dačić also confirmed that a man seen brandishing a pistol during the Novi Sad clashes was a Serbian Army warrant officer on official duty protecting a “secured person.” He said the officer’s actions had prevented potential loss of life.