Fire and shooting at a camp in Belgrade hosting the president’s loyalists injures 1

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A fire and shooting at a camp hosting loyalists of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in central Belgrade on Wednesday injured one person, officials said, while Vucic described the incident as a “terrorist attack.”

The fire erupted Wednesday morning at the tents outside the Serbian parliament building, which were set up in March as an apparent human shield against anti-government protests that have roiled Serbia for months and pose the most serious challenge to Vucic’s rule.

Police said they arrested a 70-year-old man who fired shots toward one of the tents, sparking the fire. The man is facing charges of attempted murder, causing public danger and illegal possession of weapons, police said.

The camp, known colloquially as “Caciland,” encompasses the white-tent settlement in and around the park and the public square near the parliament building and the president’s office.

Footage showed the fire breaking out in a tent after a series of popping sounds that resembled gunfire. Several police officers around the tent camp ducked, pulled out guns and told people for take cover.

Vucic described it as an “awful terrorist attack,” telling a hastily called press conference that “it is my political judgement” because the man “used firearm with an aim to cause public danger and with an undoubtful political motive.” Pro-government tabloids accused a government opponent of being behind the reported shooting.

Vucic also showed video footage of the incident and the alleged shooter confessing upon arrest that he wanted police to kill him, and that he was “annoyed by the tents” in Belgrade.

“It was a question of time before this would happen,” said Vucic, who repeatedly has accused anti-government protesters of violence although their protests have largely been peaceful. “There were countless calls for this (shooting.)”

Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar said one person suffered serious injuries after being shot by a “man who thinks differently.” He did not elaborate.

The incident came ahead the Nov. 1 rally marking the first anniversary of a train station canopy collapse that triggered huge youth-led protests against Vucic’s authoritarian rule.

The mass rally is planned in Novi Sad, where the Nov. 1, 2024, canopy collapse killed 16 people and was blamed on graft-fueled negligence in construction projects.

Authorities launched a campaign of intimidation against the protesters, including reports of arbitrary arrests and police violence. Serbia’s Gen Z protesters have been demanding Vucic schedule an early parliamentary election, which he has so far refused.