A physical altercation erupted between ruling party MPs, opposition members, and some ministers during a Serbian Parliament session on Monday, following which security was called in to intervene.

The incident occurred at the beginning of Parliament’s second regular sitting, which was scheduled to debate the 2025 budget among some 50 other agenda items. The clash broke out before any formal discussion could begin.

Security personnel separated the involved parties, but tensions escalated when several MPs attempted to remove an inflammatory banner that government MPs had hung from the Parliament hall’s balcony.

Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic cut off all microphones, preventing public broadcast of the events on any platform. She would only briefly restore audio when calling for “peace, dignity, and the continuation of the meeting.”

The speaker then called for a break and invited representatives from all MP caucuses for consultations.