Police fire tear gas at protests of deadly canopy collapse in Serbia

NOVI SAD, Serbia — 

Protesters threw flares and reddish overgarment Tuesday connected the City Hall gathering successful the Serbian metropolis of Novi Sad successful rage implicit past week's illness of a factual canopy astatine the railway presumption that killed 14 people. Police responded by firing teardrop state canisters.

The protesters surrounded the gathering successful cardinal Novi Sad, breaking windows and throwing stones and different objects contempt calls by organizers to stay calm. Special constabulary troops were deployed wrong the building.

Some of the aggravated protesters wearing masks, believed to beryllium shot hooligans who are adjacent to the populist government, tried to get wrong the gathering and manus implicit their demands that those liable for the canopy illness look justice.

Serbia's autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic said the constabulary are “showing restraint,” but besides issued a informing saying “horrific, convulsive protests are underway."

“People of Serbia, delight bash not deliberation unit is allowed,” helium said connected X, formerly Twitter. “All those taking portion successful the incidents volition beryllium punished.”

Protest organizers said they wanted to participate the Hall and taxable their demands.

Miran Pogacar, an absorption activist, said “one solid model tin beryllium mended but we cannot bring backmost 14 lives. People are angry. Serbia won’t basal for this.”

Bojan Pajtic, an absorption politician, said helium believed the convulsive incidents were stoked deliberately by provocateurs, a maneuver utilized earlier successful Serbia to derail peaceful anti-government protests and overgarment the absorption protesters arsenic enemies of the nation.

Thousands archetypal marched done the metropolis streets demanding that apical officials measurement down due to the fact that of the fatal outer extortion illness past Friday, including President Vucic and Prime Minister Milos Vucevic.

The protesters archetypal gathered extracurricular the railway presumption wherever they held a infinitesimal of soundlessness for the victims arsenic organizers work their names. The assemblage responded by chanting: “arrest the gang” and “thieves.”

The protestation started peacefully but immoderate demonstrators aboriginal hurled integrative bottles and bricks astatine the office of Vucic’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party and smeared reddish overgarment connected posters of the Serbian president and the premier curate — a connection that they person humor connected their hands.

The protesters removed astir of the Serbian nationalist red, bluish and achromatic nationalist flags that were seemingly hung connected the office to forestall it from an attack. That triggered an aggravated absorption from the president.

“Our Serbian tricolor has been destroyed, hidden and removed by each those who bash not emotion Serbia,” Vucic wrote connected X. “Tonight, successful Novi Sad, this is being done by those who archer america that they emotion Serbia much than us, the decent citizens of this country.”

Critics of Serbia’s populist authorities person attributed the catastrophe to rampant corruption successful the Balkan country, a deficiency of transparency and sloppy enactment during renovation enactment connected the presumption gathering which was portion of a wider railway woody with Chinese authorities companies.

The mishap happened without warning. Surveillance camera footage showed the monolithic canopy connected the outer partition of the presumption gathering crashing down connected the radical sitting beneath connected benches oregon going successful and out.

Officials person promised afloat accountability and, faced with pressure, Serbia’s operation curate submitted his resignation Tuesday.

Prosecutors person said that much than 40 radical already person been questioned arsenic portion of a probe into what happened. Many successful Serbia, however, uncertainty that justness volition beryllium served with the populists successful steadfast power of the judicial strategy and the police.

Opposition parties down Tuesday’s protestation said they are besides demanding the resignation of Vucevic and that documentation beryllium made nationalist listing each the companies and individuals involved.

The victims included a 6-year-old girl. Those injured successful the extortion illness remained successful superior information Tuesday.

The bid presumption has been renovated doubly successful caller years. Officials person insisted that the canopy had not been portion of the renovation work, suggesting this was the crushed wherefore it collapsed but giving nary mentation for wherefore it was not included.

The Novi Sad railway presumption was primitively built successful 1964, portion the renovated presumption was inaugurated by Vucic and his populist ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, implicit 2 years agone arsenic a large stopover for a planned accelerated bid enactment betwixt Belgrade and Budapest.