Thousands join pro-government rally in Serbia amid discontent after shootings

Thousands attend a rally in support of President Aleksandar Vucic in front of the Serbian parliament building in Belgrade, Serbia (Darko Vojinovic/AP/PA)

Tens of thousands of people converged on the Serbian capital on Friday for a major rally in support of President Aleksandar Vucic, who is facing a revolt against his autocratic rule following two mass shootings.

The event was overshadowed by a new crisis in Serbia’s former province of Kosovo, where ethnic Serbs clashed with Kosovo police on Friday and Mr Vucic ordered Serbian troops to be put on a “higher state of alert”.