site.btaSerbian President Says Security Services Searching for Two Snipers: "We Know Who Paid Them, They Cannot Shake My Resolve"

Serbian security services have been searching for two snipers for three days, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday on Prva Televizija. He added it is known who paid them, but their intended target has not yet been identified.

“We have not been able to find them for three days. We will see who the targets are. We know they have arrived, we know where the money came from, and I believe the competent services will manage to locate them,” Vucic said.

The Serbian President added that “this is their only way – they cannot shake my resolve, they cannot defeat me,” without specifying whom he was referring to.

Vucic said that the past year had been the most difficult one in his professional career. According to him, younger people in Serbia are slowly learning about politics, but “that is not a bad thing.”

On November 1, 2024, a canopy at the railway station in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad collapsed, killing 16 people and severely injuring one. This sparked protests across the country as people believe the tragedy in Novi Sad was the result of corruption and negligence. Students blocked over 60 university faculties, and the protests grew into a mass movement. Their demands for a transparent investigation and accountability escalated in May into a call for early elections, which President Aleksandar Vucic has refused to schedule.

At first, the protests were mostly peaceful, but in the summer they escalated into clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators, who accuse the police of brutality and excessive use of force.