**Police Clash with Opposition in Zajecar**
A heated confrontation took place in the Serbian town of Zajecar on Tuesday. Security guards and police, wearing riot gear, blocked opposition councilors from entering the town hall for a meeting of the city assembly.
The opposition councilors tried to push through two cordons backed by a large crowd. They wanted to prevent the city assembly from making decisions that could take millions out of the budget.
Security guards allegedly threw tear gas canisters at the crowd, both inside and outside the building. The entrance to the town hall was easily controlled by the police and security guards.
A shoving match broke out between the crowd and security guards. Police were then deployed in front of the entrance to stop the opposition councilors from entering.
Despite the confrontation, one opposition councilor, Dejan Krstic, managed to get into the meeting. However, it was not held because the ruling coalition did not have the required majority. Several ruling coalition councilors failed to show up.
The crowd followed the ruling coalition councilors as they left the building through a back entrance. A verbal clash ensued with the mayor’s private security guards.
This incident is similar to one that occurred in Novi Sad, where the city assembly elected a new mayor without opposition who could not get past police cordons.