Serbias populist chief vows powerful response to protesters following riots

Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic on Sunday (August 17, 2025) introduced powerful measures in opposition to anti-government protesters following days of riots within the streets all through Serbia which have challenged his more and more autocratic rule within the Balkan nation.

In one in every of his frequent TV addresses to the general public, Mr. Vucic accused the anti-government demonstrators of “pure terrorism” and reiterated his claims that months of persistent protests in opposition to his rule have been orchestrated within the West and geared toward destroying Serbia.

“Our nation is in grave hazard, they’ve jeopardised all our values, regular life, every particular person,” Mr. Vucic mentioned, alleging an elaborate scheme that may finally set up “anarcho-leftist” authorities sooner or later. He didn’t supply any concrete proof for his claims.

“Unless we undertake more durable steps it’s a query of days once they (protesters) will kill somebody,” Vucic mentioned. “I’m saying this for historical past.”

The stern warnings got here after 5 consecutive nights of clashes between the protesters on one facet and police and Vucic’s loyalists on the opposite. Angry protesters on Saturday night torched Vucic’s governing Serbian Progressive Party places of work in a city in western Serbia, and of different ruling coalition allies.

The demonstrators on Saturday night additionally clashed with police in Belgrade, the capital, and within the northern metropolis of Novi Sad. Riot officers used tear fuel in opposition to demonstrators who hurled stun grenades, flares and bottles at them.

Mr. Vucic didn’t specify what the state response that he mentioned would come inside every week. But he pressured {that a} state of emergency will not be imminent. Scores of individuals have already been detained and injured previously days, whereas police have confronted accusations of extreme drive and arbitrary detentions of protesters.

“You will witness the willpower of the state of Serbia,” Vucic mentioned. “We will use every little thing at our disposal to revive peace and order within the nation.”

The clashes this week marked a significant escalation following greater than 9 months of largely peaceable demonstrations that began after a concrete cover collapsed at a prepare station in Serbia’s north, killing 16 folks.

Many in Serbia blamed the tragedy on alleged widespread corruption in state-run infrastructure initiatives that they are saying fueled poor renovation work. The Serbian president has confronted accusations of stifling democratic freedoms whereas permitting organised crime and corruption to flourish. He has denied this.

Serbia is formally looking for EU membership, however Mr. Vucic has maintained robust ties with Russia and China. On Sunday, he praised Russia’s backing for his authorities in opposition to what he referred to as a “coloured revolution” in opposition to his authorities.