NOVI SAD, Serbia (AP) — Baton-wielding riot police in a northern Serbia town on Friday fired tear gas and charged at thousands of peaceful protesters who were demanding free elections and justice after months of demonstrations against the autocratic rule of President Aleksandar Vucic.

The protest led by university students came more than 10 months after a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in the town of Novi Sad, killing 16 people. The disaster ignited a wave of public outrage over alleged state corruption and negligence, which demonstrators cite as causes of the collapse.

There were no immediate reports of injuries in Friday’s chaos triggered by the police action. Ambulances could be seen driving through Novi Sad’s streets.

Vucic, who has said he wants to take Serbia to the

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