Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Tensions in Sofia centre escalate as protesters throw firecrackers at police

7
Photo: BGNES

Tension has escalated even further on the 56th day of anti-government protests in Bulgaria marked with clashes, pepper spray and arrests. Protesters threw fireworks, cans, plastic bottles, stones and eggs at the Police cordon formed in front of the main entrance of the former communist Party House and current National Assembly building. 

The provocateurs are football fans, a representative of the protesters told a BNR reporter. 

One of the organizers of the protests, lawyer Nikolay Hadzhigenov, told BNT that there were most probably provocateurs among the protesters. Participants at the protests were trying to stop those who were throwing firecrackers at the police in order to prevent further escalation of the tension. 

Policemen stepped in front of the cordon with Bulgarian flags in their hands.  Protesters are chanting “Mafia”. 

The organizers of the protests - the so called "Toxic Trio" gave an ultimatum to the government to resign until Thursday morning. Arman Babykian, who is one of the members of the "Toxic Trio", called on the protesters to come back tomorrow at 9 am at Independence Square downtown Sofia to voice their discontent.

At 11 p.m., a water cannon was positioned in the protest areaIvaylo Ivanov, Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior, told Nova TV that many police officers were injured during today's protests. Information on their number is still being summarized. Ivanov confirmed that the escalation was caused by well-organized football fans. 

"We are trying to be impartial, not to take sides, to behave in the best way, but, to be honest, today absolutely everyone went too far," said the chief secretary of the Interior Ministry. 
He said it had been decided not to clash with the protesters. There were signals that provocations were expected, so an increased police presence was ensured, he said.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Valerie Hayer

DPS-New Beginning to be excluded from the European liberal family

The Presidency of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament unanimously decided to recommend the termination of membership of the Group of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) party, following the actions of its leader, Delyan Peevski...

published on 12/23/24 9:05 AM

Long lines of trucks and cars at the border with Turkiye

Long lines of trucks and cars have formed at the border with Turkiye, reported Nova TV. The line of trucks on the Maritsa motorway has reached Svilengrad and is over 12 kilometres long, which is due to the increased traffic before the holidays...

published on 12/22/24 5:21 PM

Monday will be cloudy and windy

During the night, the cloud cover will increase from the west, but there will still be no precipitation.  The weather will remain clear in the eastern parts of the country. The lowest temperatures will range from minus 3°C to 2°C, slightly higher in..

published on 12/22/24 5:20 PM