Serbian lawmakers throw smoke grenades, tear gas in parliament
Serbian opposition lawmakers let off smoke grenades and tear gas in parliament on Tuesday to protest against the government and support demonstrating students. (Credit: Reuters)
©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. All market data delayed 20 minutes.
Live Now
Next Up
Dems accelerate Trump resistance ahead of Congress joint session
Trump, Vance spar with Zelenskyy in tense White House meeting
‘The View’ co-host Sunny Hostin fact-checked by Alyssa Farah Griffin on northern border crisis
Trump admin wants public apology from Zelenskyy before moving forward with minerals deal
Trump surprises guests during White House tour
‘RFK’d our fries:’ Steak ‘n Shake swaps out vegetable oil for healthier alternative
It will be ‘incredibly hard’ to walk back ‘animosity’ seen at Trump-Zelenskyy meeting, says Karl Rove
Colorado puppy thieves fake seizure during heist: police
Joy Behar walks back claim that Elon Musk was ‘pro-apartheid,’ admits, ‘I don’t really know’
USCG medevacs cruise ship passenger off the coast of Hawaii
Zelenskyy leaves White House after being ‘kicked out’ following heated meeting
Kevin O’Leary concerned DOGE is ‘not cutting enough’
Secretary Rubio offers hope US, Ukraine can repair relations after White House explosive meeting
Karoline Leavitt says ‘rude’ Zelenskyy needs to change his ‘attitude,’ or ‘perhaps he can’t make a deal at all’
Secretary Rubio: Trump has had ‘constant’ engagement with Ukraine amid push to end war
Gutfeld extends well wishes to Kat Timpf and family amid cancer diagnosis
Southwest jet nearly collides with private plane on Chicago runway
Apple dictation ‘glitch’ confirms what Trump’s been saying for years, Kaylee McGhee White says
Dr. Drew: Acknowledge that it’s ‘hard’ to maintain good health, but doable
Zelenskyy doesn’t apologize for blowup with Trump, but insists he respects president and US
Serbian MPs toss smoke grenades in parliament as lawmaker suffers stroke
Serbia’s parliament descended into chaos on Tuesday as opposition lawmakers threw smoke grenades and tear gas inside the chamber to protest against the government and support demonstrating students.
With dozens of lawmakers gathered in the chamber, opposition MPs lit flares and tossed smoke grenades and eggs, while others leapt from their seats to brawl with security guards. As the room filled with smoke, some unrolled a banner reading: “Serbia rises up to bring down the regime.”
Three members of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), including a pregnant woman, were injured in the melee, with one suffering a stroke, CNN’s Serbian affiliate N1 reported.
The chaos marks a dramatic escalation to the student-led protest movement that has brought the country to a standstill, delivering the stiffest threat yet to the hardline rule of President Aleksandr Vucic.
Serbia’s political crisis began after the canopy of a railway station in the city of Novi Sad collapsed in November, killing 15 people. The tragedy became a flashpoint for latent discontent that had been brewing over Vucic’s 12 years in power. What began as vigils for the dead have led to four months of near-daily protests that have drawn in large swaths of Serbian society and reached every corner of the Balkan nation.
The crumbled canopy – which many believe collapsed due to hasty work by shoddy subcontractors – has come to serve as a symbol of what many see as corruption at the heart of the Serbian state.
During Tuesday’s skirmish, some opposition lawmakers held signs reading “justice for the killed,” while a crowd outside held 15 minutes of silence, one for each of the victims of the Novi Sad tragedy.
The Vucic government has responded to the protesters with a jumbled mix of carrots and sticks. It has veered between dismissing the movement as a sham orchestrated by foreign governments to undermine Serbia, and offering a more conciliatory tone and promising concessions.
RELATED ARTICLE
How a train station tragedy is threatening to bring down a hardline European president
Parliament was due on Tuesday to confirm the resignation of Prime Minister Milos Vucevic, who announced in January that he would stand down in an attempt to calm the political tensions. However, the protesters saw the move as an attempt by the president to deflect blame – a tactic he has used to defuse past crises.
“With the Prime Minister resigning, (the protesters) are saying, ‘No, no, no, this is not enough. We are not going to let you pull the wool over our eyes again,’” Engjellushe Morina, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told CNN at the time.
Vucevic later went to a hospital to visit Jasmina Obradovic, the lawmaker who suffered a stroke. In a post on social media, Vucevic said both Obradovic and the country as whole will “overcome this overdeal.”
Serbia’s parliament had been scheduled on Tuesday to discuss 62 points on its agenda, including a vote on the dismissal of Speaker Ana Brnabic.
Brnabic said Serbia’s parliament “will not back down” after Tuesday’s chaos and said the MPs who disrupted the session were “terrorists.” Lawmakers attempted to resume the session, but opposition MPs continued to whistle and blow horns.
© 2025 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved.
CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.
Up next
Most read
MORE FROM CNN
NEWS & BUZZ
Watch: Chaos as MPs throw smoke grenades in Serbian Parliament
At least three Serbian MPs have been injured after opposition members threw smoke grenades during a chaotic session inside the country’s parliament on Tuesday.
Politicians were seen on live television clashing with security and launching tear gas in an apparent show of support for student protestors.
Demonstrations sparked by a railway station roof collapse that killed 15 people four months ago have morphed into a wider movement that poses the biggest threat yet to the Serbian government.
One of the injured MPs suffered a stroke and is in a critical condition, according to the speaker. “Serbia is rising up for the regime to fall,” read a banner unfurled on the chamber floor.
Ukrainian President Zelensky tells the BBC he is “aware of everything” after European summit in London.
US President Donald Trump claims the US has outspent Europe on aid to Ukraine by over $200bn. BBC Verify’s Nick Eardley fact-checks Trump’s claims.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is expected to become the second biggest force in the country.
Christian Democrats leader Friedrich Merz thanks those who placed their trust in the party and him.
A goat in Madrid was rescued by firefighters after it became trapped on a window sill of a tower block.
A Ukrainian audience member on BBC Question Time describes her family being divided following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
The BBC’s Analysis Editor Ros Atkins looks at why the US wants access to Ukraine’s minerals.
The BBC asked the Russian ambassador if Zelensky standing down is among Russia’s demands as a condition of peace.
Danielle McLaughlin, 28, from County Donegal, was found dead in the western state of Goa in March 2017.
The BBC’s Defence correspondent breaks down a drastic shift in Washington’s position on the war in Ukraine.
After an election win which has been widely criticised as illegitimate, Alexander Lukashenko faced questions from the BBC’s Russia editor Steve Rosenberg.
Tens of thousands of people demand action as they gather to remember the victims of Greece’s worst railway disaster.
It’s election day in Belarus – with Alexander Lukashenko set to continue his 31-year-long rule of the country.
BBC’s Helen Willetts has the forecast after Storm Éowyn brought record-breaking winds.
At least 10 people have been injured when a ski lift failed in northern Spain.
The “once-in-a-century” find has been unearthed in the ancient Roman city.
Irish mountain farmers use their dogs to find their flock trapped under several feet of snow.
People in Moscow speak to BBC Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg about their wishes for the New Year.
The BBC’s Will Vernon reports amid emotional scenes as freed prisoners arrive in Ukraine.
Three survivors of the downed Azerbaijani plane have described the moments on the flight before the crash.
Copyright 2025 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
