Serbia's populist leader vows tough response to protesters following riots

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic on Sunday announced tough measures against anti-government protesters following days of riots in the streets throughout Serbia that have challenged his increasingly autocratic rule in the Balkan country.

Thousands of people defied Vucic's threat of a crackdown and protested later on Sunday in various Serbian towns, including the capital Belgrade. Shouting “Arrest Vucic,” the protesters demanded that all those detained in the past days be released. No incidents were reported.

In one of his frequent TV addresses to the public, Vucic accused the anti-government demonstrators of “pure terrorism” and reiterated his claims that months of persistent protests against his rule have been orchestrated in the West and aimed at destroying Serbia.

“Our country is in grave danger, they have jeopardized all our values, normal life, each individual,” Vucic said, alleging an elaborate scheme that would eventually install “anarcho-leftist” authorities in the future. He did not offer any concrete evidence for his claims.

“Unless we undertake tougher steps it is a question of days when they (protesters) will kill someone,” Vucic said. “I am saying this for history.”

The stern warnings came after five consecutive nights of clashes between the protesters on one side and police and Vucic's loyalists on the other. Angry protesters on Saturday evening torched Vucic’s governing Serbian Progressive Party offices in a town in western Serbia, and of other ruling coalition allies.

The demonstrators on Saturday evening also clashed with police in Belgrade, the capital, and in the northern city of Novi Sad. Riot officers used tear gas against demonstrators who hurled stun grenades, flares and bottles at them.

Vucic did not specify what will be the state response that he said would come within a week. But he stressed that a state of emergency is not imminent. Scores of people already have been detained and injured in the past days while police have faced accusations of excessive force and arbitrary detentions of protesters.

“You will witness the determination of the state of Serbia,” Vucic said. “We will use everything at our disposal to restore peace and order in the country.”

The clashes this week marked a major escalation following more than nine months of largely peaceful demonstrations that started after a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in Serbia's north, killing 16 people.

Many in Serbia blamed the tragedy on alleged widespread corruption in state-run infrastructure projects that they say fueled poor renovation work. The Serbian president has faced accusations of stifling democratic freedoms while allowing organized crime and corruption to flourish. He has denied this.

Serbia is formally seeking EU membership, but Vucic has maintained strong ties with Russia and China. On Sunday, he praised Russia's backing for his government against what he called a “colored revolution” against his government.

A Serbian riot police officer directs a man filming after clearing people blocking a street during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbian riot police officers guard an intersection after clearing people blocking a street during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbian gendarmerie officers patrol in truck after clearing people blocking a street during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbian gendarmerie officers guard a street during an anti-government protest near the Serbian Progressive Party office in Belgrade, Serbia, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbian gendarmerie officers patrol in truck during an anti-government protest near Serbian Progressive Party office in Belgrade, Serbia, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — For several weeks, international journalists and camera crews have been scurrying up to people in Greenland's capital to ask them for their thoughts on the twists and turns of a political crisis that has turned the Arctic island into a geopolitical hot spot.

President Donald Trump insists he wants to control Greenland but Greenlanders say it is not for sale. The island is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark and the prime minister of that country has warned that if the U.S. tries to take Greenland by force, it could potentially spell the end of NATO.

Greenlanders walking along the small central shopping street of the capital Nuuk have a hard time avoiding the signs that the island is near the top of the Western news agenda.

Scores of journalists have arrived from outlets including The Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, the BBC and Al Jazeera as well as from Scandinavian countries and Japan.

They film Nuuk's multicolored houses, the snowcapped hills and the freezing fjords where locals go out in small boats to hunt seals and fish. But they must try to cram their filming into about five hours of daylight — the island is in the far north and the sun rises after 11 a.m. and sets around 4 p.m.

Along the quiet shopping street, journalists stand every few meters (feet), approaching locals for their thoughts, doing live broadcasts or recording stand-ups.

Local politicians and community leaders say they are overwhelmed with interview requests.

Juno Berthelsen, MP for the Naleraq opposition party that campaigns for independence in the Greenlandic parliament, called the media attention “round two,” referring to an earlier burst of global interest following Trump's first statements in 2025 that he wanted to control Greenland.

Trump has argued repeatedly that the U.S. needs control of Greenland for its national security. He has sought to justify his calls for a U.S. takeover by repeatedly claiming that China and Russia have their own designs on Greenland, which holds vast untapped reserves of critical minerals.

Berthelsen said he has done multiple interviews a day for two weeks.

“I'm getting a bit used to it,” he said.

Greenland's population is around 57,000 people —- about 20,000 of whom live in Nuuk.

“We’re very few people and people tend to get tired when more and more journalists ask the same questions again and again,” Berthelsen said.

Nuuk is so small that the same business owners are approached repeatedly by different news organizations — sometimes doing up to 14 interviews a day.

Locals who spoke to the AP said they want the world to know that it's up to Greenlanders to decide their own future and suggested they are perplexed at Trump's desire to control the island.

“It’s just weird how obsessed he is with Greenland,” said Maya Martinsen, 21.

She said Trump is “basically lying about what he wants out of Greenland,” and is using the pretext of boosting American security as a way to try to take control of “the oils and minerals that we have that are untouched.”

The Americans, Martinsen said, “only see what they can get out of Greenland and not what it actually is.”

To Greenlanders, she said, “it's home.”

“It has beautiful nature and lovely people. It’s just home to me. I think the Americans just see some kind of business trade.”

Kwiyeon Ha contributed to this report.

A journalist films in Nuuk, Greenland, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Burrows)

An AP journalist films people sitting by the sea in Nuuk, Greenland, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Burrows)

A journalist conducts an interview in Nuuk, Greenland, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Burrows)