Protests in Serbia, Vucic reacts: I did not flee the country, as Assad did

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has accused foreign intelligence services of trying to topple him amid widespread protests in the Balkan state and added that he would not leave the country like ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

The Serbian president posted a video message on Instagram saying that "I will fight for Serbia and I will only serve my Serbian people and all other citizens of Serbia. I will never serve foreigners, those who seek to defeat, humiliate and destroy Serbia".

Vucic's opponents in Serbia have compared him to Assad and other world dictators, predicting that he too may try to leave the country if he loses his firm grip on power amid protests sparked by the collapse of a railway station roof. in the northern city of Novi Sad on November 1, which left 15 dead.

Protesters in Novi Sad, Belgrade and other Serbian cities blamed the deadly collapse on rampant corruption in the country, which led to shoddy work on the renovation of the station building in Novi Sad, part of a wider deal with companies Chinese state-owned companies involved in a number of infrastructure projects in the Balkan country.

The roof collapse became a hotbed of wider discontent with President Vučić's increasingly autocratic rule, reflecting public demands for democratic change in the country.

In his post, the Serbian president claims that the spreading protests, which have recently been joined by university students, are funded by the West, with the aim of ousting him and his government from power "with various hybrid tactics used to damaged the country".

"If they think I'm Assad and I'm going to go somewhere, I won't," he said.

President Vucic said that in the coming days and weeks, he would reveal "in full detail how much money has been paid over the last four years to destroy Serbia" and make it a vassal state, "which would not receive own decisions or choose his own future, but instead he would have to listen and serve someone else".

The Balkan country is officially seeking membership in the European Union, while maintaining very close ties with Russia and China. President Vucic, who claims Serbia's political neutrality, has repeatedly vowed never to join Western sanctions against Moscow over its aggression in Ukraine. VOA (A2 Televizion)