Tensions soar in Serbia as angry protesters clash with police, set fire to party offices

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.

BELGRADE, Serbia — 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 60 miles from the capital Belgrade. They set fire to the party's offices before clashing with riot police in a downtown area.

Police threw multiple rounds of tear gas and charged at the demonstrators who hurled bottles, rocks and flares at them.

Similar clashes also erupted Saturday evening in the northern city of Novi Sad and in Belgrade, with police directing tear gas at protesters while battling the protesters who set garbage containers on fire.

The protesters in Valjevo turned out to the streets to protest what they allege is police brutality.