Minister Ivica Dacic addresses citizens after midnight: At least 42 police officers injured, some seriously

PHoto: Tanjug/Ana Paunkovic

Interior Minister Ivica Dacic held a news conference last night in the Palace of Serbia.

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The minister previously spoke at around 22:00, in connection with rioting that broke out during protests in several cities in Serbia.

During his new address, Dacic said that there was a violation of public order and peace in those places.

"Tonight, the police, who protect public order and peace, were brutally attacked. The police normalized the situation in Belgrade, apart from sporadic incidents," said Dacic.

Speaking around midnight last night, the minister said that protests were ongoing in at least eight towns.

He said that 42 police officers were injured, 26 in Belgrade. Dacic said that some have serious wounds.

The minister also said that 37 people had been arrested up until that point, and that actions to this effect were still ongoing.

"Some got arrested on the spot, and some will be identified and arrested in the coming hours and handed over for further proceedings," said the minister.

Ivica Dacic added that this was one of the fiercest attacks on the police in recent years.

"It's not just about verbal insults. It's about throwing stones, hitting (officers) with sticks, bats. They used various means to injure the police. The police reacted and intervened, they used chemical means where it was necessary to repel attacks against themselves," said Dacic and added that this was also an attack on the state.

"Who has the right to attack a police officer? If a police officer exceeded their authority, they would be held accountable," said the minister.

"These (police) are people who lay down their lives in defense of the country, and now someone is going to crush their skulls in the center of Belgrade?," remarked Dacic.

He pointed out that a Croatian citizen was among those arrested in Belgrade last night, who arrived in the capital a while earlier, via Sid.

"What was he doing in Belgrade attacking the (Serbian) Gendarmerie. Imagine if someone from Serbia went and attacked the police in Zagreb. So much for these protests having nothing to do with external factors," Dacic added.

He also said that as of midnight last night, citizens still gathered in Novi Sad, Valjevo, Nis...

"It's over in Pancevo, there were big attacks on the police (there)," said Dacic.

The minister once again called on the citizens to be peaceful.

"The situation needs to calm down, because this has nothing to do with politics, but with disruption of public order and peace, and that is not allowed anywhere in the world," said Dacic and thanked the police officers who were deployed in large numbers throughout Serbia.

"They are working in the interest of this country, not in the interest of any party. They are defending their lives and the interests of the country," said the minister.

(Telegraf.rs)