PODGORICA – Montenegrin police said Thursday they have detained “a number of citizens” following clashes at protests demanding the release of eight Serbian Orthodox Church priests jailed for leading a religious procession despite a ban on gatherings related to the new coronavirus outbreak.
Several officers have been injured during the unrest late Wednesday in the towns of Niksic and Pljevlja, police said. They insisted that police intervened with pepper spray and dispersed the protesters into smaller groups after they threw rocks, bottles and other objects and blocked traffic.
An ax and a knife were found during a search in Niksic, the statement said. The protests followed the arrest of the Serbian Orthodox Church priests who had led a