A man was shot and wounded and a fire briefly broke out near the Serbian Parliament on Wednesday in tents that were erected in support of President Aleksandar Vucic’s government.
In a news conference, Mr. Vucic played footage of the shooting and of the police questioning a suspect while he lay on the ground in handcuffs. Zlatibor Loncar, the health minister, told reporters that the wounded man had serious injuries.
The unrest was the latest flare in protests across Serbia that have lasted for months. The fire broke out in an area occupied by backers of Mr. Vucic. Demonstrations against Mr. Vucic’s government have been some of the biggest outpourings of public discontent in the country in decades.
Mr. Vucic framed the violence as something that had been bound to happen, and he blamed rhetoric the from students leading the rallies against him. The protests began nearly a year ago when 15 people were killed by the collapse of a concrete canopy at a newly renovated train station. They have spread across the country, reaching even into towns that voted heavily for Mr. Vucic in the last election, in 2023.
Mr. Vucic called Wednesday’s episode “a terrorist act” in a televised speech to the nation, noting that a weapon had been used and claiming that there was a “political motive” behind the assault.
Monika Cvorak contributed reporting.
Amelia Nierenberg is a Times reporter covering international news from London.
The post Man Is Shot and Tents Set on Fire Outside Serbia’s Parliament appeared first on New York Times.
