Military security chief admits soldier fired sidearm at Novi Sad protest

A video of a man in a black T-shirt firing a pistol appeared on social media right after the incident. The man was reported to be with supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

“Taking into consideration the number of attackers and assessing that the lives of Army of Serbia personnel were in danger, and to give warning and repel the attack on himself and other army personnel, the authorised personnel member fired a shot into the air and the attackers stopped their attack and left the scene,” Jovanovic said.

He added that what the soldier did was “absolutely in line with rules and regulations and the measures taken were solely about protecting the lives of military personnel”. He said that the assessment is that their lives would have been in danger otherwise. “No lives were endangered by the firing into the air,” the general said.

Jovanovic claimed that 7 troopers from the Kobras special forces detachment were injured, four of those seriously. The Kobras detachment provide security for the Serbian president and other holders of top state posts.