LEADER URGES HALT TO ANTI-LOCKDOWN PROTESTS

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic called on protesters on Wednesday to stop attending anti-government rallies to avoid further spread of the coronavirus, warning there were no beds left in hospitals, after dozens of demonstrators and police were hurt in overnight clashes.

The violence in the capital Belgrade was triggered when a crowd stormed parliament in protest at plans to reimpose a lockdown following a surge in COVID-19 cases.

“There are no free beds in our hospitals, we will open new hospitals,” Vucic said. He also accused far-right organizations and unspecified regional “intelligence officials” of staging riots to “undermine Serbia’s position.”

Footage showed police kicking and beating people, while protesters pelted officers with stones and bottles, after thousands chanting for the resignation of Vucic gathered outside the parliament building.

Although he initially said a new lockdown would be imposed in Belgrade on the weekend, Vucic decided against it and said the government would instead announce sanitary measures.

Serbia, a country of 7 million, has reported 17,076 COVID-19 cases and 341 deaths.

The government’s critics say its decisions to reopen and allow parliamentary elections to go ahead on June 21, are to blame for the spike in infections.