said a number of people have been detained. In Belgrade, the Gazela Bridge and the Mostar interchange were blocked, while a simultaneous protest was held in the center of the city. Police earlier have warned that any blockade of bridges is illegal. Deputy Prime Minister Zorana Mihajlović responded that "road blockade has nothing to do with ecology, and those utilizing it as a means of protest only show their irresponsibility". Protests and Roadblocks on 4 December For the second Saturday in a row, thousands of demonstrators blocked some of the key roads in Serbia. The protesters gathered in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, Šabac, Požarevac, Valjevo, Kraljevo, Užice, Jagodina, Leskovac, Kruševac, Vranje, Požega, Smederevo, Subotica, Preljina, and other towns in organization of multiple environmental organizations and citizen groups. The organizers stated the demands for revocation of the laws on referendum and expropriation, believed to be paving the way for Rio Tinto's lithium mine in western Serbia. The protests unfolded mainly peacefully with only sporadic incidents, as the uniformed police were not present at the scene. The protests lasted for about 2 hours. In Belgrade several thousand protesters blocked the highway close to the Sava Centar, the Gazela Bridge, and the Slavija Square. At the roundabout in front of Novi Beograd municipality building protesters were constantly crossing the road, thus blocking the traffic. Traffic at Branko's Bridge was also blocked. Earlier in the day lawyers organized a separate protest with the same demands. In Novi Sad an incident was reported when about twenty young men came out of the vehicles and confronted the demonstrators. A fight broke out involving about a hundred participants, and the injuries have been reported. The intruders fled the scene, and the police did not intervene. Protests in Šabac, where incidents had happened the week before, were peaceful. In the southern town of Niš several hundred of people gathered in front of the city assembly building. Priority vehicles including ambulance were allowed passage through blockades. The demonstrators were holding Serbian flags and sporadically using whistles and trumpets. Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić ignored the protests and traveled to the site where the international mining company plans to start its excavations. His office said he wanted to talk to the locals about the project. Vučić alleges the protests are financed by the West to destabilize the country and bring the opposition to power. The Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović said: