Tensions mount in Serbia with tens of thousands expected at Belgrade protest

Tens of thousands of people from across Serbia are expected to join an anti-corruption rally in Belgrade today in what is seen as a culmination of months of protest that have shaken the grip of the country's autocratic president, Aleksandar Vučić.

- Jennifer Rankin

Tensions were running high yesterday as the president's supporters began setting up a camp in a park in front of the presidential palace. Earlier this week, Vučić warned that security officers would use force against people at the rally.

Vučić, who has dominated Serbian politics since becoming prime minister in 2014, said the demonstrators would never force him to stand down. "You will have to kill me if you want to replace me," he said.

Authorities have faced near-daily protests since November when a station roof collapsed killing 14 people in Novi Sad, Serbia's second city. Many blame rampant corruption for the disaster at the station, which was inaugurated by Vučić in 2022 after renovations.

The movement has been largely peaceful, but Vučić has claimed protesters "will try to achieve something with violence and that will be the end", and predicted "many will end up behind bars".

Agence France-Presse reported that known ultranationalists, including members of a former militia linked to the 2003 assassination of the then prime minister Zoran Đinđić have been seen among the group of activists camped near the presidential palace.