Police running battles with anti-gay rioters in Serbia

Riot police in the Serbian capital Belgrade fought running battles with hundreds of far-right supporters who tried to disrupt a gay pride march on Sunday. Several dozen people were hurt. The rioters also hurled petrol bombs at the headquarters of the ruling pro-Western Democratic Party, setting the garage of the building on fire. Thousands of police officers sealed off the streets in the capital where the march took place, repeatedly clashing at several locations with rioters who were trying to burst through security cordons. The protesters, chanting “Death to homosexuals!“ hurled bricks, stones, glass bottles and firecrackers at riot police. Several parked cars and shop windows were damaged and at least one police vehicle was set on fire. Police fired tear gas and deployed armoured vehicles to disperse the charging protesters in the heart of Belgrade even after the brief pride march ended. At least 46 people, most of them police officers, were injured. Several rioters were arrested.