People release white doves in memory of the victims, outside the train station, on the first anniversary of the disaster that killed 16 people, in Novi Sad, Serbia, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of mainly young people in Serbia embarked on a two-day march from Belgrade to the country’s north on Thursday, aiming to join a major rally this weekend that will mark the anniversary of a deadly train station disaster.
Protesters believe the victims died because government corruption led to sloppy renovation work at the station. They have been demanding accountability for the disaster, and an early parliamentary election that they hope will oust President Aleksandar Vucic’s populist government.
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
People fill the streets near the train station before observing 16 minutes of silence for the victims on the first anniversary of the disaster that killed 16 people, in Novi Sad, Serbia, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)People observe 16 minutes of silence in memory of the victims, outside the train station, on the first anniversary of the disaster that killed 16 people, in Novi Sad, Serbia, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)People turn the lights on on their mobile phones as they join the protest on the first anniversary of the disaster that killed 16 people, in Novi Sad, Serbia, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)People cheer as a group of students arrive before a rally on Nov. 1, marking the first anniversary of a train station disaster that killed 16 people, in Novi Sad, Serbia, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)People welcome a group of students from the southwestern town of Novi Pazar as they march towards the northern city of Novi Sad, for a huge rally on Nov. 1 marking the first anniversary of a train station disaster that killed 16 people, in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)Students and anti-government protesters march to Novi Sad for a rally on Nov. 1 marking the first anniversary of a train station disaster that killed 16 people, in Indjija, Serbia, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)Serbian police guard a camp of President Aleksandar Vucic’s loyalists as Dijana Hrka, the mother of one of 16 victims of a train station tragedy in northern Serbia a year ago, launched a hunger strike surrounded by anti-government protesters in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)Students embrace as they march to Novi Sad for a huge rally on Nov. 1 marking the first anniversary of a train station disaster that killed 16 people, in Indjija, Serbia, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)Students rest on a street while taking a break on their march to Novi Sad for a rally on Nov. 1 marking the first anniversary of a train station disaster that killed 16 people, in Indjija, Serbia, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)Students rest during a break on a march marking the first anniversary of a train station disaster on Nov. 1, 2024 that killed 16 people in Novi Sad, in Stara Pazova, Serbia, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)People turn on the lights on their mobile phones as they join the protest on the first anniversary of the disaster that killed 16 people, in Novi Sad, Serbia, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)A protestor holds a flare as he welcomes students marching to Novi Sad for a rally on Nov. 1 marking the first anniversary of a train station disaster that killed 16 people, in Indjija, Serbia, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)A heart shaped balloon files above people observing 16 minutes of silence in memory of the victims, outside the train station on the first anniversary of the disaster that killed 16 people, in Novi Sad, Serbia, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
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