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Gallery|Protests

An estimated 100,000 join antigovernment rally in Serbia’s Belgrade

Protesters converge in Serbia’s capital in what was likely the largest in a series of anticorruption demonstrations in the Balkan country.

Protesters march and carry Serbian flags during a major rally.
Protesters march during a rally against populist President Aleksandar Vucic and his government, in downtown Belgrade [Darko Vojinovic/AP Photo]
Published On 16 Mar 202516 Mar 2025
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At least 100,000 people descended on Belgrade for a mass rally seen as a culmination of months-long protests against Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic and his government.

Large crowds of flag-waving protesters clogged the downtown area of the capital on Saturday despite occasional rain, with people hardly able to move.

Following apparent sporadic incidents between protesters and the police, university students – who have been leading the peaceful protests for the past four months – abruptly called for an end to the demonstration, saying they could no longer guarantee safety at the rally.

Most of the protesters dispersed, but thousands remained on the streets as tensions surged.

Police said the crowd reached 107,000 at the peak of the protest. Serbian independent media described the rally as the biggest ever in the country, saying the numbers were much higher. All public transport in Belgrade was cancelled as protesters streamed into the city from various directions.

The rally was part of a nationwide anticorruption movement that erupted after a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in Serbia’s north in November, killing 15 people.

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Almost daily demonstrations that started in response to the tragedy have shaken Vucic’s firm grip on power in Serbia like never before, in his past 13 years in charge. Many in Serbia blamed the crash on rampant government corruption, negligence and disrespect of construction safety regulations, demanding accountability for the victims.

Before the demonstration, Vucic repeatedly warned of alleged plans for unrest while threatening arrests and harsh sentences for any incidents.

Several reporters from neighbouring Croatia as well as Slovenia have been turned back from Serbia’s border, with the explanation that their presence at the rally “represents a security risk”.

Vucic has rejected earlier proposals for a transitional government that would organise an early election. He has claimed that Western intelligence services were behind the almost daily student-led protests, with the aim to remove him from power. He has presented no evidence for his claims.

Serbia Protest Tensions
Protesters light flares as they march past the parliament building in Belgrade. [Darko Vojinovic/AP Photo]
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Serbia Protest Tensions
Large crowds of flag-waving protesters clogged the downtown area of the capital on Saturday despite occasional rain. [Mitar Mitrovic/Reuters]
Serbia Protest Tensions
For weeks, student-led protesters have criss-crossed the country, holding rallies in Serbia's major cities. [Djordje Kojadinovic/Reuters]
Serbia Protest Tensions
Anti-riot police cordons off the area near the parliament building in downtown Belgrade. [Armin Durgut/AP Photo]
Serbia Protest Tensions
President Aleksandar Vucic had struck a defiant tone on Friday, saying he would not "let the streets set the rules in this country". [Filip Stevanovic/Anadolu]
Serbia Protest Tensions
Serbia has seen months of antigovernment rallies after 15 deaths from a railway station roof collapse triggered accusations of widespread corruption and negligence. [Marko Drobnjakovic/AP Photo]
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Serbia Protest Tensions
The Serbian government denies accusations of corruption and incompetence and says Western intelligence agencies are backing a push to destabilise the country. [Armin Durgut/AP Photo]
Serbia Protest Tensions
Many railway and bus links to Belgrade have been cancelled, in an apparent effort to prevent people from attending the rally. The transport company said the cancellation was made “for security reasons”. [Andrej Isakovic/AFP]


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