A wave of protests has swept through a number of Serbian cities – from Valjevo and Leskovac to Novi Beograd and Gornji Milanovac. Thousands of citizens have taken to the streets against the regime of Aleksandar Vučić and the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SPP). In some places, tensions have escalated – with party offices set on fire, clashes and police cordons.

The city where the first protest began this evening is Valjevo. The demonstrators gathered around 7:00 p.m. and marched to the police headquarters, where a gendarmerie was stationed in the courtyard. The protest there escalated – protesters broke open the entrance to the city hall building. The police intervened and pushed them away, after which a cordon blocked the street in front of the institution. The demonstrators began throwing stones and pyrotechnics at the police.

In the capital's Novi Beograd district, demonstrators from Zemun joined the protesters and together they reached the headquarters of the Serbian Progressive Party (SPP), where they were met by a police cordon. Witnesses reported explosions, possibly from fireworks fired at the police. The police used tear gas and stun grenades, then stormed the citizens away.

Demonstrators in Novi Sad threw paint and stones at the building of the Socialist Movement, while at the building of the Serbian Radical Party they tore down the party flag and set it on fire.

Serbia's Commissioner for Equality, Brankica Janković, said that the clashes in the streets were the result of citizens' lost trust in institutions: "People are taking justice into their own hands because they have not received protection from those who are supposed to guarantee it," she said, condemning the police actions.

Her words were responded to by the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament and a senior official of the ruling SPP, Ana Brnabić. In a post on the social network X, she described the statement as “the words of a person with zero personal and professional integrity.”

In Leskovac, protesters reached the SPP building, but their path was blocked by a police cordon. Those gathered said they would wait for local party leaders to appear.

In Gornji Milanovac, several hundred people threw toilet paper at the SPP offices. And a police cordon is in place. | BGNES