Tens of thousands rally in Belgrade to protest against government rule

People use umbrellas to shelter from the rain as they attend an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, May 27, 2023. The protests in Belgrade and other Serbian cities are the biggest in years against Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic and his government. They were organized in response to a pair of mass shootings earlier this month that left 18 people dead and 20 wounded, many of them children from an elementary school. © Marko Drobnjakovic, AP

Huge crowds of anti-government protesters on Saturday encircled the Serbian state television building in downtown Belgrade to press their demand for autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic to ease his tight grip on the mainstream media and allow alternative voices.

Tens of thousands of opposition supporters, some chanting slogans urging Vucic's resignation, streamed into the rain-drenched streets a day after the president's followers staged an equally big rally in the capital. Most of his supporters were bused into the capital from all over Serbia and some neighboring states.