Tensions soar in Serbia as protesters clash with police

They set fire to the party’s offices before clashing with riot police in a downtown area.

Serbian gendarmerie officers patrol in a truck during an anti-government protest near the Serbian Progressive Party office in Belgrade (Darko Vojinovic/AP)

Angry protesters clashed with police in a town in western Serbia and in the capital Belgrade on Saturday as tensions soared further in the Balkan nation following days of violent demonstrations.

Wearing scarves over their faces and chanting slogans against President Aleksandar Vucic, a group of young men threw flares at his Serbian Progressive Party offices in Valjevo, some 100km (60 miles) from the capital Belgrade.