That's why the Serbs are giving up their weapons!

Belgrade - After two rampages with 18 deaths in May of this year, people in Serbia handed in a total of 108,833 illegally ownedweapons .

Over 108,000 illegally owned weapons were handed in in Serbia. (symbolic image)
Over 108,000 illegally owned weapons were handed in in Serbia. (symbolic image)  © artfully/123rf

This was stated by a police spokeswoman in Belgrade on Saturday, according to the Serbian news agency Tanjug. The government had called for the weapons to be handed in.

The deadline for handing in weapons without penalty had expired at midnight the previous day, having already been extended once. According to the police, around 82,400 small arms, around 26,500 mines and other explosive devices, as well as 4.2 million pieces of ammunition were handed in.

On Saturday evening, tens of thousands of people again demonstrated in Belgrade and at least eight other locations in Serbia against what they see as a climate of violence in the country promoted by tabloid media loyal to the government.

Left-wing and liberal opposition parties and civil movements had called for the demonstrations. In Belgrade, the demonstrators flocked to the headquarters of the private broadcaster "Pink TV".

They accused this government-controlled tabloid channel of inciting hatred and violence. The anger of the citizens is also directed at President Aleksandar Vucic and the government. They are accused of not having prevented this climate of violence.

Serbian demonstrators want to see the country's leading politicians in punishment clothing.
ContentImage.Description   © Milos Miskov/AP

The two shootings had deeply shaken Serbia's society. On May 3, a 13-year-old pupil shot dead nine classmates and a security guard at his school in the center of Belgrade. A day later, a young man killed eight people with firearms in a village near Belgrade. The two rampages were not connected.