Protests continue in Serbia as COVID-19 infections continue to rise

Fourteen policemen were injured in the clashes on Friday night in front of the parliament in Belgrade, while 71 demonstrators were arrested, Serbian police chief Vladimir Rebic said on Saturday.

Speaking at a press conference, Rebic added that several foreign nationals from Montenegro, Tunisia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Britain were among those arrested.

Thousands of Serbs protested for a fourth consecutive night on Friday, rallying against President Aleksander Vucic and his government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Police in full riot gear and mounted units were deployed outside the parliament building to prevent Vucic's opponents from storming it.

Pelting police officers with rocks and signal flares, protesters chanted, "We will not give up Kosovo" and "Vucic thief."

Police in riot gear were deployed outside the parliament building in Belgrade to protect any breaches. /AP

Earlier on Friday, Vucic said he was not worried about losing political power amid the protests, considered the most intense since the overthrow of former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.

He instead expressed fear about the spread of the virus by demonstrators.

"It is so irresponsible to call upon people to gather and demonstrate when we are faced with the most horrific numbers of infections from the coronavirus," Vucic told reporters during a state visit to France.

In Belgrade, one protester was stabbed in the leg in the crowd, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The demonstrations this week were, at first, driven by frustration over economically stifling measures to contain the pandemic, but soon evolved into anti-government rallies with participants demanding Vucic's resignation.

Serbia's President Aleksander Vucic has said he was not worried about losing political power, despite the protests. AP

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic announced on Friday that "hospitals are packed with sick" and said protests posed a major health risk.

Critics say that the government's decisions to allow soccer matches, religious festivities, parties and private gatherings to resume in May and parliamentary elections to go ahead on 21 June are to blame for the new surge in infections.

Vucic dismissed those claims and dismissed protests as "senseless."

"You cannot seize power using force," he said.

Serbia is the first country in Europe to have held elections since the pandemic was declared.

A number of opposition parties boycotted the vote to protest Vucic's control of the media, which they said did not give them enough coverage. Vucic rejected those claims.

(CGTN)