Belgrade, 12 November 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Thousands of people took to the streets of the Serbian capital Belgrade on Monday evening, media reports said, under the slogan "Corruption Kills!"

Their protest was directed against the government of President Aleksandar Vučić, following the collapse of the main railway station's canopy in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad 10 days ago.

Fourteen people died and dozens more were injured in the canopy collapse. To this day, there is no conclusive explanation for the cause of the disaster.

Government critics assert that there is corruption among those in power, which also characterizes numerous other areas of public life in Serbia.

The station building in Novi Sad dates back to 1964 and underwent extensive renovations in recent years. However, the station's canopy was not included in these renovations, and the reasons for this are unclear.

Vučić has been ruling Serbia in various capacities, sometimes in an authoritarian manner, for 12 years.

The demonstrators marched from the government office in the centre of Belgrade to the presidential office just a few hundred metres away. The opposition parties had called for the rally.

Vučić was attending the UN Climate Change Conference in Baku at the time.

Since the disaster in Novi Sad, there have already been demonstrations in the northern Serbian city and in Belgrade.

Before his departure, Vučić claimed the protests were being stirred up by "anti-Serbian media."