BELGRADE: Tens of thousands of Serbians have joined protests against gun violence in Belgrade and other cities after two mass shootings the previous week claimed several lives.
At least 17 people, including schoolchildren, were killed in the shootings last week, the BBC said.
The protesters asked the government to step down and asked media outlets to avoid promoting violence.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has condemned the protests, accusing the opposition of capitalising on the national tragedy to for personal interest. He said he was ready to test his party’s popularity at the snap vote.
He said, “I’ll continue to work and never back down before the street and the mob… We shall see whether it will be a government reshuffle or an election.”
The next country elections are set to take place in 2026.
Police were stationed near Belgrade’s schools as they restarted classes. The Serbian government is planning to recruit more officers to be stationed at schools.
Crowds marched through the city’s centre behind a banner that read “Serbia against violence”.
During the protest, Marina Vidojevic, a schoolteacher, said, “We’re here because we cannot wait any longer. We’ve waited too long, we have been silent too long, we have turned our heads too long.”
“We want safe schools, streets, cities and villages for all children.”
Thousands turned out across Novi Sad, and protests threw flowers into the Danube River, which flows to the capital.
The protesters demand the stepdown of the interior minister and the chief of Serbia’s intelligence agency.
In his resignation letter, Branko Ruzic, Serbia’s Education Minister, resigned on Sunday, citing the “cataclysmic tragedy” of the current school massacre.
