Tens Of Thousands Join Protests Following Shootings In Serbia

Tens of thousands of Serbs have joined protests against gun violence in the capital Belgrade and another city after two mass shootings last week.

Seventeen people died in the shootings on Wednesday and Thursday, including eight children in a primary school.

The protesters are demanding that top government officials resign and want newspapers and TV stations that they say promote violence to be shut down.

Serbia's President, Aleksandar Vucic, condemned the protests.

He accused the opposition of capitalising on a national tragedy to promote their own interests.

"I will continue to work, and I will never back down before the street and the mob... Whether it will be a reshuffle of the government or an election, we shall see," he said on TV.

The next parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2026.

All of Belgrade's schools had police officers stationed nearby when classes began again on Monday. More officers will be hired by the government and posted at schools.

A banner reading "Serbia against violence" was carried by throngs of people as they marched through the city's center.

"We are here because we can't wait any longer. We've waited too long, we've been silent too long, we've turned our heads too long," Marina Vidojevic, a schoolteacher, told the crowd, as quoted by AFP news agency.

"We want safe schools, streets, villages and cities for all children."

Numerous protesters thronged Novi Sad in the north, where they poured flowers into the Danube River, which flows to the capital.

The interior minister and the head of Serbia's intelligence agency were both demanded to resign by the demonstrators.

Branko Ruzic, Serbia's Minister of Education, stepped down on Sunday, characterizing the most recent school shooting as a "cataclysmic tragedy" in his letter of resignation.

In Europe, Serbia has the highest rates of gun ownership. According to a 2018 poll, there are 39 firearms for every 100 individuals in Serbia, the vast majority of which are illegal.

Vucic has begun a one-month amnesty for turning in illegal weapons, during which time citizens may hand their weapons over to authorities without being questioned.

The amnesty will last 30 days.

According to Serbian police, some 1,500 guns were turned in on the first day of the amnesty.