Students block Belgrade

Serbian university students launched a 24-hour blockade of a key traffic intersection in Belgrade on Monday, adding to pressure on authorities over a deadly roof collapse at a train station in November that left 15 dead.

Serbian farmers with tractors and thousands of citizens joined the blockade that followed weeks of protests demanding responsibility for the deadly accident in the northern city of Novi Sad, which critics blame on rampant government corruption.

The campaign of street demonstrations poses the biggest challenge in years to the populist government's firm grip on power in Serbia.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Prime Minister Miloš Vučević and Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić announced that they would announce "important decisions" on the situation later on Monday, but it was not immediately clear what the decisions might be.

President Vučić has faced accusations of curbing democratic freedoms despite officially seeking Serbia's membership in the European Union. He has accused the students of working for foreign powers to overthrow the government, without providing evidence or specifying which powers he is referring to.

Several incidents have marred street protests in recent weeks, including two incidents in which drivers rammed cars into crowds, injuring two young women.

Traffic police secured the student blockade on Monday to avoid any similar incidents. The protesting students set up tents at the protest site, which is a major intersection.

Some students played volleyball, others sat on blankets on the sidewalk or took a walk on a warm day. The students also held a 15-minute memorial silence at 11:52 a.m., exactly the same time the roof at a train station in Novi Sad collapsed on November 1.

Many in Serbia believe that the large concrete roof collapsed due to shoddy reconstruction work, a result of corruption.

Prosecutors in Serbia have filed charges against 13 people, including a government minister and several state officials. But former construction minister Goran Vesic has been released from custody, raising doubts about the independence of the investigation.

The main railway station in Novi Sad was renovated twice in recent years as part of a broader infrastructure deal with Chinese state-owned companies./ VOA (A2 Televizion)