Serbian students today began a 24-hour blockade of Belgrade's Autocomanda district, through which the capital's key transport links pass, BGNES reports.

The blockaded section is part of the international road E-75. The blockade started at 10.00 local time (11:00 Bulgarian time). At 11.52 a.m. a tribute was paid to the victims of the collapse of the railway station canopy in Novi Sad on November 1, when 15 people died.

The students came to Autocommando in two groups - from the Student Square and from the King Alexandra Avenue. Students from the Faculty of Agriculture arrived with tractors. Farmers and motorcyclists also participated. At the head of the procession stands a banner with a call to the capital's citizens: "They are rotten to the core, come out and support us!"

Several bridges also came under blockade. One boundary of the blockade is at the Veterinary Medical Faculty and the other at the roundabout to Ustanichka Street.

Throughout the day, students will organize various protest actions, and at 8 p.m. they will turn on the lights on their phones and read out their demands. Spontaneous blockades of other road sections on the territory of the Republic of Serbia are also possible without prior notice. Police are redirecting traffic.

The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommended Bulgarian citizens and road hauliers transiting through Belgrade today to use the Belgrade ring road - from Sofia - exit the motorway at Buban Stream and join the motorways to Zagreb and Budapest at the Dobanovci junction.

The 24-hour blockade comes just a few days after a general strike in Serbia, in which tens of thousands of citizens protested against the authoritarian, corrupt and policing regime of President Aleksandar Vucic. On 24 January, a number of civil society organisations, associations and businesses stopped work and many schools remained closed.

On Saturday 25 January, rallies were held in nearly 20 towns, followed by the "Noise Against Dictatorship" action a day later, when Serbian citizens were called upon to bang pots and pans and make noise from their open windows in support of the students.

The Serbian newspaper Danas called the general strike a "dress rehearsal" for the upcoming mass protests, which more and more people are joining.

With pressure mounting on the government, Vucic called on the cabinet to publish all documents related to the Novi Sad railway station. Experts from the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Belgrade claim that the documents published so far are incomplete, which is the regime's attempt to hide the truth.

Vucic vowed to increase the police presence at the protests and promised that "the street will never rule Serbia".

The president and his subordinates accuse the students of being backed by foreign forces, including security services of neighbouring countries, without providing any evidence for their claims. | BGNES Vucic vowed to increase the police presence at the protests and promised that "the street will never rule Serbia".

The president and his subordinates accuse the students of being backed by foreign forces, including security services of neighbouring countries, without providing any evidence for their claims. | BGNES