Serbian police clashed with right-wing protesters and detained 64 people in Belgrade EuroPride on Saturday.

Citing security concerns after right-wing groups threatened to hold protests, the interior ministry banned the march earlier this week.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said, "I am very proud that we managed to avoid more serious incidents."

Adding that 10 police officers were slightly injured after a group of hooligans threw flares at the police.

Despite some progress over the years in reducing discrimination, Gay marriage is not legally recognised in Serbia and homophobia remains deep-seated.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/thousands-protest-the-forthcoming-europride-in-serbian-capital-515248">Also read |&nbsp;Thousands protest the forthcoming EuroPride in Serbian capital</a>

With officers pushing back the small groups of counter-demonstrators waving crosses and religious insignia, there was a heavy police presence around the Pride rally.

Following intense international pressure to allow the march, Serbia barred any counter-protests but some far-right groups gathered in front of several Belgrade churches.&nbsp;

Despite the imposition of the ban at least, 15 members of the European Parliament joined the Pride march in a show of solidarity.

After far-right groups targeted the event Belgrade Pride marches in 2001 and again in 2010 were marred by violence and rioting.

Drawing criticism from human rights groups and others, previous Serbian governments have banned Pride parades.

EuroPride organisers approved Belgrade as this year's host as recent Pride marches in Serbia have passed off peacefully and the country is a candidate to join the European Union.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Serbian police clashed with right-wing protesters and detained 64 people in Belgrade EuroPride on Saturday. Citing security concerns after right-wing groups threatened to hold protests, the interior ministry banned the march earlier this week.

Serbian police clashed with right-wing protesters and detained 64 people in Belgrade EuroPride on Saturday. Citing security concerns after right-wing groups threatened to hold protests, the interior ministry banned the march earlier this week. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said, "I am very proud that we managed to avoid more serious incidents." Adding that 10 police officers were slightly injured after a group of hooligans threw flares at the police. Despite some progress over the years in reducing discrimination, Gay marriage is not legally recognised in Serbia and homophobia remains deep-seated. Also read | Thousands protest the forthcoming EuroPride in Serbian capital With officers pushing back the small groups of counter-demonstrators waving crosses and religious insignia, there was a heavy police presence around the Pride rally. Following intense international pressure to allow the march, Serbia barred any counter-protests but some far-right groups gathered in front of several Belgrade churches. Despite the imposition of the ban at least, 15 members of the European Parliament joined the Pride march in a show of solidarity. After far-right groups targeted the event Belgrade Pride marches in 2001 and again in 2010 were marred by violence and rioting. Drawing criticism from human rights groups and others, previous Serbian governments have banned Pride parades. EuroPride organisers approved Belgrade as this year's host as recent Pride marches in Serbia have passed off peacefully and the country is a candidate to join the European Union. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION's TV here: ×

Serbian police clashes with right-wing protesters, detains 64 people in Belgrade EuroPride

Serbia Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has supported world no. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic after the Serbian ace was massively criticized after conducting the ill-fated Adria Open in Serbia and Croatia. Four tennis players, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/serbian-tennis-ace-novak-djokovic-tests-positive-for-covid-19-307966">including Djokovic</a>, were tested positive following the event with the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/i-am-deeply-sorry-we-were-wrong-novak-djokovic-issues-apology-on-adria-tour-after-testing-positive-for-coronavirus-308169">Serbian releasing a heartfelt apology</a> for the fiasco.&nbsp;

Brnabic said Djokovic tried to do something for the whole region and wanted to help young and non-established tennis players while raising money for humanitarian purposes. The Serbian PM further urged everyone should leave Djokovic alone and rather shift the blame on her.

"Every part of him. He tried to do something good for the whole region," Brnabic said in an interview with PinkTV.

ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a data-ctorig="https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/novak-djokovics-faulty-serve-to-the-tennis-world-308282" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/novak-djokovics-faulty-serve-to-the-tennis-world-308282&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwju0POMqKzqAhVIzzgGHbPNA_0QFjADegQICRAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw22OBXqtziTPxaCGuCIHBmW" dir="ltr" href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/novak-djokovics-faulty-serve-to-the-tennis-world-308282" target="_blank">Novak&nbsp;Djokovic's&nbsp;faulty serve to the tennis world</a>

"To put politics aside and help young and non-established tennis players, as well as to raise money for humanitarian purposes. If they could shift the blame on me personally, as Prime Minister, and leave Novak alone, I would love it," she added.

Djokovic has also found support in Manchester United and Serbian international Nemanja Matic as the midfielder said that the situation in Serbia was completely different from other parts of the world and Djokovic did nothing wrong by conducting the event.

The likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki were tested positive for COVID-19 after attending the Belgrade leg of the exhibition event. Djokovic and his wife were also tested positive for the dreaded virus with NBA star Nikola Jokic, who attended the event in Serbia, also contracted the virus.&nbsp;

Some of the tennis players, including Djokovic, were also seen partying at a nightclub in Belgrade to celebrate the success of Adria Tour before all hell broke loose.

"People need to understand that the situation in Serbia was better than here. The country allowed everyone to do whatever they want, everything was open, the shopping centres and the restaurants," Matic told Sky Sports.

Djokovic’s move to organise Adria Tour received <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/nick-kyrgios-reacts-as-novak-djokovic-tests-positive-for-covid-19-posts-video-of-tennis-players-partying-after-adria-tour-307992">heavy bashing from ace tennis player Nick Kyrgios</a> with former Indian tennis player Vijay Amritraj also terming the event as “surprising.” 
&nbsp;

Serbia Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has supported world no. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic after the Serbian ace was massively criticized after conducting the ill-fated Adria Open in Serbia and Croatia.

Serbia Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has supported world no. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic after the Serbian ace was massively criticized after conducting the ill-fated Adria Open in Serbia and Croatia. Four tennis players, including Djokovic, were tested positive following the event with the Serbian releasing a heartfelt apology for the fiasco. Brnabic said Djokovic tried to do something for the whole region and wanted to help young and non-established tennis players while raising money for humanitarian purposes. The Serbian PM further urged everyone should leave Djokovic alone and rather shift the blame on her. "Every part of him. He tried to do something good for the whole region," Brnabic said in an interview with PinkTV. ALSO READ: Novak Djokovic's faulty serve to the tennis world "To put politics aside and help young and non-established tennis players, as well as to raise money for humanitarian purposes. If they could shift the blame on me personally, as Prime Minister, and leave Novak alone, I would love it," she added. Djokovic has also found support in Manchester United and Serbian international Nemanja Matic as the midfielder said that the situation in Serbia was completely different from other parts of the world and Djokovic did nothing wrong by conducting the event. The likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki were tested positive for COVID-19 after attending the Belgrade leg of the exhibition event. Djokovic and his wife were also tested positive for the dreaded virus with NBA star Nikola Jokic, who attended the event in Serbia, also contracted the virus. Some of the tennis players, including Djokovic, were also seen partying at a nightclub in Belgrade to celebrate the success of Adria Tour before all hell broke loose. "People need to understand that the situation in Serbia was better than here. The country allowed everyone to do whatever they want, everything was open, the shopping centres and the restaurants," Matic told Sky Sports. Djokovic’s move to organise Adria Tour received heavy bashing from ace tennis player Nick Kyrgios with former Indian tennis player Vijay Amritraj also terming the event as “surprising.”

Blame me but leave Novak Djokovic alone: Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic

Serbia&nbsp;ordered its security forces on full alert on Tuesday after police in neighbouring Kosovo mounted an anti-smuggling operation in a northern region of the country populated mainly by Serbs.

The move came amid rising tension in four Serb-populated municipalities in Kosovo's north, which remains largely outside the control of Pristina and pledges allegiance to Belgrade.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Monday acknowledged Belgrade had lost control over Kosovo, its former southern province, but warned it would react if Kosovo attacked Serbs there.

In the Kosovan operation, police arrested dozens of officers on Tuesday, including ethnic Serbs, accused of smuggling goods into the country. They said police had faced "armed resistance" and one policeman was wounded.

Serbian state RTS TV reported two Serbs were also wounded during the police action.

Belgrade saw the action as an attempt by Pristina authorities to take control of northern parts of Kosovo which border&nbsp;Serbia, and&nbsp;Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic placed special police units under alert.

The head of&nbsp;Serbia's Office for Kosovo, Marko Djuric, said Kosovo police "armed to their teeth" raided four Serb municipalities in the north.

"They did it with an aim to intimidate and if possible to sow panic...to create an impossible climate for Serbs in Kosovo," Djuric said in a broadcast on&nbsp;Serbia's RTS TV.

Emergency sirens sounded in the Serb part of Mitrovica and people gathered in the town's main square but no incidents occurred, witnesses said.

Kosovo police said their investigation had been launched months ago. The operation also took place in other parts of the country.

"I confirm that the operation is about law enforcement and nothing else. I call Serbs in the north to stay calm and respect the law," Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said.

Majority-Albanian Kosovo declared independence in 2008, almost a decade after NATO air strikes wrested control of the territory away from Belgrade to end a counter-insurgency campaign by&nbsp;Serbian security forces.

But&nbsp;Serbia, which under its constitution considers Kosovo an integral part of its territory, has been blocking Kosovo from membership of international institutions including Interpol and UNESCO. It also still provides financial aid to Serbs in Kosovo.

Smuggling is rampant in the area and it further increased since Kosovo last November introduced 100 per cent tariffs on goods from&nbsp;Serbia.

Serbia ordered its security forces on full alert on Tuesday after police in neighbouring Kosovo mounted an anti-smuggling operation in a northern region of the country populated mainly by Serbs.

Serbia ordered its security forces on full alert on Tuesday after police in neighbouring Kosovo mounted an anti-smuggling operation in a northern region of the country populated mainly by Serbs. The move came amid rising tension in four Serb-populated municipalities in Kosovo's north, which remains largely outside the control of Pristina and pledges allegiance to Belgrade. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Monday acknowledged Belgrade had lost control over Kosovo, its former southern province, but warned it would react if Kosovo attacked Serbs there. In the Kosovan operation, police arrested dozens of officers on Tuesday, including ethnic Serbs, accused of smuggling goods into the country. They said police had faced "armed resistance" and one policeman was wounded. Serbian state RTS TV reported two Serbs were also wounded during the police action. Belgrade saw the action as an attempt by Pristina authorities to take control of northern parts of Kosovo which border Serbia, and Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic placed special police units under alert. The head of Serbia's Office for Kosovo, Marko Djuric, said Kosovo police "armed to their teeth" raided four Serb municipalities in the north. "They did it with an aim to intimidate and if possible to sow panic...to create an impossible climate for Serbs in Kosovo," Djuric said in a broadcast on Serbia's RTS TV. Emergency sirens sounded in the Serb part of Mitrovica and people gathered in the town's main square but no incidents occurred, witnesses said. Kosovo police said their investigation had been launched months ago. The operation also took place in other parts of the country. "I confirm that the operation is about law enforcement and nothing else. I call Serbs in the north to stay calm and respect the law," Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said. Majority-Albanian Kosovo declared independence in 2008, almost a decade after NATO air strikes wrested control of the territory away from Belgrade to end a counter-insurgency campaign by Serbian security forces. But Serbia, which under its constitution considers Kosovo an integral part of its territory, has been blocking Kosovo from membership of international institutions including Interpol and UNESCO. It also still provides financial aid to Serbs in Kosovo. Smuggling is rampant in the area and it further increased since Kosovo last November introduced 100 per cent tariffs on goods from Serbia.

Serbia puts forces on alert after Kosovo police operation in Serb-populated north

Serbia&#39;s President on Thursday named an openly gay woman as the next prime minister, a milestone move for the deeply conservative country and the wider Balkan region.

Ana Brnabic, 41, will take the premiership less than a year after she entered politics, becoming&nbsp;public administration minister last August.

&quot;I decided to propose Ana Brnabic as prime minister-designate to the parliament of&nbsp;Serbia,&quot; President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters.

&quot;I believe that Brnabic has professional and personal qualities to be prime minister... and that along with other ministers she will work on improvement and progress of our&nbsp;Serbia,&quot; he added.

Brnabic said serving her country was the &quot;greatest honour&quot;.&nbsp;

&quot;I will work in a devoted and responsible way with great love and honesty,&quot; she told public broadcaster RTS.

Brnabic becomes&nbsp;Serbia&#39;s first female prime minister and the first openly gay premier in the Balkans, where homophobia remains widespread.

Serbia&nbsp;is home to about seven million people, most of them Orthodox Christians.

But it has been eager to show increased tolerance after coming under pressure to improve protection for minorities, including the LGBT community, since it began talks to join the European Union.

At Belgrade&#39;s Gay Pride march in 2010, 150 people were injured as hardline nationalists attacked participants and clashed with police. That led officials to ban the parade for the next three years.

Since then, the annual marches have passed without incident, though they are guarded by an extensive security presence.

In interviews after she became a minister last year, Brnabic expressed the hope that people would look beyond her sexual orientation.

&quot;Why does it matter? I don&#39;t know why it matters,&quot; she told the regional RTV channel last week.

&quot;What is important is whether someone is capable, professional, hard-working, honest, likes their country and wants to work in its best interest.&quot;

She is expected to take office in the next few weeks.

A telling choice&nbsp;

Vucic had been serving as prime minister himself since 2014 until two weeks ago, when he became head of state after winning the presidential vote in April.

While he has won praise from abroad and has led&nbsp;Serbia&nbsp;into the EU accession talks, at home he has been accused of authoritarian rule and clamping down on media freedoms.

The presidential job is largely ceremonial, but analysts expect that Vucic will move to consolidate his influence.

Before Thursday&#39;s announcement, his SNS party -- which has a comfortable majority in parliament -- said he would make the decision on his successor.

When he appointed Brnabic to his cabinet last year, Vucic said that he was interested only in her work and that &quot;her personal choices do not interest me&quot;.

&quot;Vucic is trying to show that&nbsp;Serbia&nbsp;is a free liberal country in which civic freedoms are at a high level,&quot; political scientist Boban Stojanovic told AFP.

&quot;That could of course be just a &#39;camouflage&#39; of the situation as the reality is nowhere near that.&quot;

Stojanovic added that Vucic &quot;wanted to show to all other political actors in&nbsp;Serbia&nbsp;that he is the most powerful person in the country and that no other politician is close to him.&quot;

Brnabic, who is not officially affiliated with any party, told RTV last week that the president has &quot;a certain role as a mentor to the prime minister, at least in the first few months&quot;.

The premier-designate entered politics after a career in the business sector and local development programmes.

She has an MBA in marketing from Britain&#39;s University of Hull and worked as a director at the renewable energy firm Continental Wind&nbsp;Serbia.

Serbian president appointed Ana Brnabic as the prime minister of a country that continues to remain deeply homophobic

Serbia's President on Thursday named an openly gay woman as the next prime minister, a milestone move for the deeply conservative country and the wider Balkan region. Ana Brnabic, 41, will take the premiership less than a year after she entered politics, becoming public administration minister last August. "I decided to propose Ana Brnabic as prime minister-designate to the parliament of Serbia," President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters. "I believe that Brnabic has professional and personal qualities to be prime minister... and that along with other ministers she will work on improvement and progress of our Serbia," he added. Brnabic said serving her country was the "greatest honour". "I will work in a devoted and responsible way with great love and honesty," she told public broadcaster RTS. Brnabic becomes Serbia's first female prime minister and the first openly gay premier in the Balkans, where homophobia remains widespread. Serbia is home to about seven million people, most of them Orthodox Christians. But it has been eager to show increased tolerance after coming under pressure to improve protection for minorities, including the LGBT community, since it began talks to join the European Union. At Belgrade's Gay Pride march in 2010, 150 people were injured as hardline nationalists attacked participants and clashed with police. That led officials to ban the parade for the next three years. Since then, the annual marches have passed without incident, though they are guarded by an extensive security presence. In interviews after she became a minister last year, Brnabic expressed the hope that people would look beyond her sexual orientation. "Why does it matter? I don't know why it matters," she told the regional RTV channel last week. "What is important is whether someone is capable, professional, hard-working, honest, likes their country and wants to work in its best interest." She is expected to take office in the next few weeks. A telling choice Vucic had been serving as prime minister himself since 2014 until two weeks ago, when he became head of state after winning the presidential vote in April. While he has won praise from abroad and has led Serbia into the EU accession talks, at home he has been accused of authoritarian rule and clamping down on media freedoms. The presidential job is largely ceremonial, but analysts expect that Vucic will move to consolidate his influence. Before Thursday's announcement, his SNS party -- which has a comfortable majority in parliament -- said he would make the decision on his successor. When he appointed Brnabic to his cabinet last year, Vucic said that he was interested only in her work and that "her personal choices do not interest me". "Vucic is trying to show that Serbia is a free liberal country in which civic freedoms are at a high level," political scientist Boban Stojanovic told AFP. "That could of course be just a 'camouflage' of the situation as the reality is nowhere near that." Stojanovic added that Vucic "wanted to show to all other political actors in Serbia that he is the most powerful person in the country and that no other politician is close to him." Brnabic, who is not officially affiliated with any party, told RTV last week that the president has "a certain role as a mentor to the prime minister, at least in the first few months". The premier-designate entered politics after a career in the business sector and local development programmes. She has an MBA in marketing from Britain's University of Hull and worked as a director at the renewable energy firm Continental Wind Serbia.

Gay woman set to be Serbian prime minister in Balkan's first

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Serbian police clashes with right-wing protesters, detains 64 people in Belgrade EuroPride

Blame me but leave Novak Djokovic alone: Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic

Serbia puts forces on alert after Kosovo police operation in Serb-populated north

Gay woman set to be Serbian prime minister in Balkan's first