Protesters set fire to Bosnia's presidency building

Protesters set fire to a section of the presidency building in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo on Friday, the third day of violent protests against economic and political stagnation in the Balkan country.
   
A Reuters reporter on the scene said protesters had smashed windows and threw a flare into the building despite special police's efforts to disperse them with water cannon. 

Earlier, police used water cannon to disperse protesters who were trying to enter Bosnia's presidency building in the capital Sarajevo.

A Reuters reporter on the scene said two cars and a police guard's cabin were set on fire in front of the presidency building and black smoke could be seen from afar.

Earlier, protesters in Bosnia set fire to a local government building in the northern town of Tuzla on the third day of unrest over unemployment and political inertia in the Balkan country, a Reuters photographer said.

Protests were called for Friday in towns and cities across Bosnia, including the capital Sarajevo, in a sign of deepening social unease over the lack of economic and political progress since a 1992-95 war.

The photographer said up to 6,000 people were protesting in Tuzla. Several hundred people turned out in Sarajevo, lobbing stones at police.


REUTERS