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Tens of thousands march through the capital of Serbia to demand snap elections

On Monday, tens of thousands silently marched through Belgrade to honor the 16 victims killed in a railway station roof collapse. They demanded snap elections that they hoped would force President Aleksandar Vucic out of power and his ruling SNS Party.

Around 7 pm (1700 GMT), the protesters, who were invited by students from high schools, gathered in front of Belgrade's old railway station. Sixteen students from high school walked along the Savski trg square while holding a white rose as the names of victims were read.

In addition to Novi Sad and Kragujevac, protests also took place in Aleksinac.

"Corruption is at the core of all our social problems." "Elections are the only way to solve this problem," said Srdjan a 35-year old scientist who attended the demonstration.

The 16 deaths in Serbia last November triggered months of protests throughout Serbia. This has shaken Vucic's SNS party.

The protests had been mostly peaceful up until the 13th of August, when clashes resulted in the injuries of dozens police officers and civilians.

The protesters are calling for early elections to remove Vucic from power and have accused the corruption of the Novi Sad train station disaster.

Students, anti-corruption groups and opposition groups have accused Vucic of having ties with organized crime, using violent tactics against political opponents, and suppressing freedom of the media - accusations they deny. (Reporting and editing by Andrea Ricci; Ivana Sekularac)

(source: Reuters)