Hundreds of riot police separated opponents and loyalists of Serbia's autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic in central Belgrade as political tensions boiled after a year of persistent anti-government protests.

Several thousand people faced off on both sides of the police cordons on Sunday, with officers in full riot gear standing in several rows between the shouting crowds who threw bottles and flares at each other.

Tensions in Belgrade soared a day after tens of thousands of people joined a huge rally in the northern city of Novi Sad that marked the first anniversary of a train station disaster there which killed 16 people, and triggered a youth-led movement demanding political changes, which has challenged Vucic's firm grip on power.

Anti-government protesters in Belgrade gathered in

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