The damage only from the first night of unrest in the Serbian capital over the planned coronavirus curfew is estimated at 15 million dinars ($144,400), Deputy Mayor Goran Vesic said on Thursday
BELGRADE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2020) The damage only from the first night of unrest in the Serbian capital over the planned coronavirus curfew is estimated at 15 million dinars ($144,400), Deputy Mayor Goran Vesic said on Thursday.
Late Tuesday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic revealed plans to reinstate curfew and other restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19. This prompted violent protests and clashes with police outside of the national parliament. The demonstrations continued on Wednesday night, leaving 17 activists and 19 police officers injured.
According to the deputy mayor, municipal services have been struggling to clean up the city for a second consecutive morning.
"The damage that the hooligans caused to Belgrade only during yesterday night [from Tuesday to Wednesday] totals 15 million dinars. By this evening, we will estimate the damage that these bandits caused this night," Vesic wrote on Facebook.
The deputy mayor noted that a criminal case has been opened against opposition activists who organized the protests.
The demonstrators broke up paving stones and hurled them at police, broke the fence around the legislature and set fire to nearby dumpsters after turning them over. Traffic signs were broken. Police armored vehicles stumbling upon dumpsters were also damaged. The unrest left the Belgrade streets awash with chunks of stones, bottles, tear gas cartridges, smoke bombs and burnt-out flares.
Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin has described the violence as an attempt to "take over the power and start a civil war" in Serbia.
