BELGRADE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2020) Ten police officers have been injured during the new riots in Belgrade that erupted after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced plans to impose new restrictions to fight the COVID-19 outbreak, Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said.
Late Tuesday, the Serbian president revealed plans to impose new restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19, including the same curfew that had been enforced during the March-May state of emergency. This prompted a clash between protesters and the police outside of the country's parliament, with 43 officers and 20 citizens injured, and 24 protesters arrested. Vucic called Tuesday night's riots the most flagrant case of political violence in several years. However, the new wave of riots is currently taking place in the Serbian capital.
"The riots left 10 police officers injured, one of them has two legs broken. He sustained the injuries when he was pushed down the stairs," Stefanovic said at a press briefing on late Wednesday.
From his point of view, the protests are not linked to the new restrictions but pose an attempt to grab power without elections and public support.
Stefanovic criticized the violence against police officers, adding that the law enforcement bodies had restored control over the streets of Belgrade.
The rallies also took place in some other Serbian cities.
Journalists of Serbia's RTS broadcaster were reportedly attacked in two cities.� An RTS camera crew has been attacked in the city of Novi sad. The incident left a camera destroyed and a cameraman slightly injured.
Another attack took place in the city of Nis, which also resulted in a destroyed camera and an injured cameraman.
The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11. To date, about 12 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 546,000 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Serbia has registered 17,076 COVID-19 cases so far, with 341 deaths.
