Last night, clashes erupted between riot police and Novi Sad students who had been blocking the entrances to the Novi Sad City Hall since midnight. At one point, the police resorted to using batons against them, resulting in injuries among the student protesters, as reported by N1.

The media outlet noted that around 2:30 a.m., the Gendarmerie arrived from the direction of Stražilovska Street and Mihajla Pupina Boulevard, positioning themselves near the fence in front of the city hall on Žarka Zrenjanina Street.

The students found themselves caught between two groups of gendarmes, who were pushing them from either side, with one group stationed at the main entrance of the building.

At the same time, another group blocked the back entrance to the Assembly. Riot police emerged from the courtyard and, according to N1, charged at the students blocking the courtyard entrance, deploying batons and starting to strike them.

Several students were injured, including a female student. The riot police began to push the students towards the gendarmerie line and continued to strike those who remained at the main entrance to the Assembly. Eventually, the gendarmerie intervened to prevent the riot police from escalating the use of force.

The students chanted “Go to Kosovo” multiple times. They attempted to convey to the police that they shared the same cause and that force was unnecessary, urging them to remove their masks. The situation calmed down following some shoving and shouting, as reported by Serbian media.

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