On March 15, the day of the protest in Belgrade, the Serbian Armed Forces (SAF) and its units were not in an increased state of combat readiness or on high alert, said the Serbian Ministry of Defense.
At the request of the Ministry of the Interior and in accordance with the Law on the Serbian Armed Forces, a certain number of military police personnel provided assistance to the Ministry of the Interior in guarding public administration buildings, as well as the Ministry of Defense and the Serbian Armed Forces buildings, said the press release.
“The Serbian Armed Forces are the armed forces of all citizens, they are ideologically neutral, disinterested and non-partisan and carry out their missions and tasks in accordance with the Constitution, law and the principles of international law,” said the Ministry adding that, in accordance with their missions and tasks, the Serbian Armed Forces perform a wide range of tasks throughout Serbia on a regular and daily basis, including the movement of units, parts of units and combat assets according to the needs of the Serbian Armed Forces, assessments made by commanders in charge, as well as for the purposes of training and regular maintenance.
The Ministry said that certain opposition politicians have been making “malicious claims” about the Serbian Armed Forces’ activities conducted in the period before and during the protests held in Belgrade on March 15, 2025.
“This is fake news and an attempt to cause a public disturbance in order to score minor political points. The Serbian Armed Forces strongly condemn spreading fake news as one sees fit and dismiss the information that our armed forces were preparing to break up the protest or that they used some coercive means, much less a prohibited one that they do not possess,” said the Ministry.
Opposition MP and deputy leader of the Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP) Marinika Tepic on Tuesday asked if the military police and Special Forces Brigade were issued live rounds during and put on full combat readiness during the March 15 protest in Belgrade, as well as what kind of regular activities the Serbian armed forces were conducting the week of the protest.
