Thousands of people gathered in the Montenegrin city of Cetinje and in the capital Podgorica to commemorate the victims of the deadly mass shooting earlier this week and to demand accountability from the authorities.
On Wednesday, 1 January, a 45-year-old man opened fire in a restaurant in the southern city of Cetinje, then fled and launched further attacks. Twelve people died, including two children, and four people were injured.
Thousands turned out outside the Ministry of Interior in Podgorica in a protest organised by the student organisation Kamo Sjutra.
Demonstrators waved placards reading "Sadness, rebellion, anger", "No turning back", "Danger for all" and chanted "resign".
"Be just and fair, innocent citizens suffered in your time. You failed to protect us and that's why -- resign!" a spokesman for the protest told the crowd.
Organisers put forward several demands, the main one being the resignation of Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic and Deputy Prime Minister for Security and Defence Aleksa Becic.
Other demands are disarmament of Montenegrin society, confiscation of illegal weapons, a moratorium on the issuance of weapons permits and the deployment of police patrols in local communities.
Earlier on Sunday, a vigil organised by the same student organisation was held in Cetinje. More than a thousand people stood silent and motionless for 12 minutes, symbolising the number of victims.
People laid flowers and lit candles in the central part of the city where the second mass shooting in less than three years took place.
Montenegrin authorities came under huge criticism from the opposition and citizens for the slow response of law enforcement, as the mass killing lasted over 30 minutes and in five different locations.
It took the police around six hours to find the attacker, who died after shooting himself when he was surrounded. | BGNES, AFP
