Police fire tear gas at Serbians protesting deadly station roof collapse
Al Jazeera
Demonstrators demand arrests and accountability after 14 people were killed and three others were critically injured.
Thousands of Serbians took to the streets in the city of Novi Sad in rage over last week’s roof collapse at a railway station that killed 14 people.
Police officers in riot gear, deployed inside the 19th-century building in the city centre, responded to the protests on Tuesday night by firing tear gas canisters and clashing with demonstrators around the city hall building. They also used pepper spray after protesters broke the windows.
Some masked protesters allegedly hurled stones and other objects at the building despite calls by organisers to remain calm. Earlier, they hurled eggs, bottles and bricks at an office of the governing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic said police were “showing restraint” while warning that “horrific, violent protests are under way”.
“People of Serbia, please do not think violence is allowed,” he said in social media posts, adding that all “perpetrators of criminal acts” will be punished.
