Thousands of students and anti-government demonstrators blocked key roads and intersections across Serbia on June 29 and 30, following violent clashes between police and anti-government protesters during a massive demonstration in the capital on June 28.

The student-led movement, which has built momentum over the past eight months, reached a boiling point late on June 28 when riot police deployed tear gas and clashed with protesters attempting to approach the Presidential Palace in Belgrade. Demonstrators had gathered by the tens of thousands to demand snap elections and an end to President Aleksandar Vucic’s 12-year rule.

What began last November as outrage over a fatal infrastructure collapse at a Novi Sad train station — which killed 16 people and sparked accusations of official negligence — has since grown into one of the largest anti-government movements in Serbia in more than a decade.

The latest unrest was triggered by the detention of dozens of protesters following Saturday night’s confrontation. Serbian authorities said 26 people were detained and 136 arrested for allegedly attacking police or attempting to incite a coup. President Vucic, speaking from Seville on June 30, defended the police response, saying the state was acting against what he described as “terrorist activity”.

Student groups behind the blockades have vowed to continue acts of civil disobedience until all detained protesters are released, and their demand for snap elections is met.

In the capital, protesters are using metal fencing and rubbish bins to block roads and bridges, halting traffic through parts of the city late Sunday and Monday. In Novi Sad, demonstrators hurled eggs at offices of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party. Similar scenes unfolded in at least a dozen other cities including Kragujevac, Subotica, Užice and Pančevo, local media reported.

Saturday’s protest in Belgrade was among the largest since the unrest began, with initial estimates at around 140,000 underscoring continuing public frustration over what many see as endemic corruption and democratic backsliding under Vucic’s administration. The president has dismissed calls for early elections and accused opposition leaders of attempting to destabilise the country.

The Serbian government has yet to announce any concessions or plans for dialogue with protesters.