STORY: Thousands of anti-government protesters, led by students, marched peacefully through the western Serbian city of Valjevo on Saturday (February 14), demanding early elections and accountability for those responsible for violent police action six months ago.

Nationwide, student-led anti-corruption protests erupted in Serbia in 2024 after 16 people died when a railway station roof collapsed in the northern city of Novi Sad, shaking the rule of the populist President Aleksandar Vucic.

Several demonstrations last summer in Belgrade and elsewhere in Serbia, including Valjevo, were broken up by police, with scores of protesters injured or arrested.

Protesters and rights watchdogs accused police of using excessive force. Authorities said police acted in response to attacks by protesters.

In Valjevo, about 70 kilometres (44 miles) west of Belgrade, protesters on Saturday waved national flags and chanted "Vucic thief" as they marched through the city centre.

"We must not give up, because if we do that, it means we accept such acts by state institutions or an absence of reaction by state institutions," said Svetlana Daskovic Milovanovic, a high school teacher.

The European Union, which opened membership talks with Serbia in 2014, has criticised its use of excessive police force and said Belgrade must improve its rule of law, root out corruption and organised crime if it wants to join the bloc.

Vucic, who has served as president since 2017, is completing his second and last five-year mandate, set to expire in 2027. He pledged to call snap elections in the coming months.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: VALJEVO, SERBIA (FEBRUARY 14, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. CROWD GATHERED / PEOPLE WAVING SERBIAN FLAGS

2. VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS WHISTLING

3. MAN HOLDING FLARE/ BLACK SMOKE

4. PROTESTERS WAVING FLAGS

5. PROTESTERS WHISTLING

6. (MUTE) VARIOUS DRONE FOOTAGE SHOWING PROTESTERS GATHERED

7. VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING AND WAVING FLAGS

8. PROTESTERS HOLDING BANNER READING (Serbian): “SLEEP PEACEFULLY, WORLD — IT’S NOT YOUR CHILD”

9. VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS WHISTLING

10. PROTESTERS MARCHING

11. PROTESTERS MARCHING AND WAVING SERBIAN FLAGS

12. PROTESTERS MARCHING

13. (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) PROTESTER, DRAGAN MOJSIOOVIC, SAYING:

“This is the state without institutions. From whom would you expect to do something? Who? No differences. We have a man who captured state institutions. Nothing works in this country. I am a man who is nearing retirement, and I came out because of these youngsters, because of youth. My time has ended. I am really sorry about those youngsters, mine, someone else's, and everybody's.”

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) PROTESTER, DARIA RANKOVIC, SAYING:

“The solution is that in the future, they will be punished, those who should be punished, to find out who ordered this, who ordered brutal beatings of youngsters on the streets of Valjevo. And we should finally reach the point where everyone is accountable for their own deeds and forget the impunity.”

15.(SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) PROTESTER, SVETLANA DASKOVIC MILOVANOVIC, SAYING:

“We must not give up. We must not give up as giving up would mean that we agree with such behaviour. We must not give up, because if we do that, it would mean we accept such acts by state institutions or an absence of reaction by state institutions and that is something that must not be allowed.”

16. VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING

17. (MUTE) DRONE FOOTAGE OF PROTESTERS MARCHING

18. VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING

19. (MUTE) DRONE FOOTAGE OF PROTESTERS MARCHING