Thousands of protesters in Montenegro seek responsibility from authorities following the murder of 12 people on New Year's Day

The demonstrators lit candles and kept silent for those killed while carrying banners and shouting angry calls, accusing politicians in Montenegro of the Cetinje tragedy and demanding their resignation.

The multiple murder, among the worst in the country, occurred on Wednesday afternoon, when 45-year-old Aco Martinovic shot the victims in Cetinje after consuming alcohol. He managed to evade the police for hours.

His sister is among those killed. He then committed suicide and died from injuries sustained in the early hours of Thursday.

It was the second mass murder in less than three years in Cetinje, located 38km west of Podgorica. In August 2022, an armed man killed 10 people, including two children, before he was killed.

Protesters demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Danilo Sharanovic and Deputy Prime Minister for Security and Defence Alexa Becic, who is also at the helm of security and defence.

Many Montenegro residents are angry with what they consider to be slow police reforms, which are lacking employees and funds and bureaucratic and political disputes within the government.

Other demands concern the demilitarisation of society and the seizure of weapons, along with reviewing all permits given in the past period, establishing community police, restoring civic education as mandatory subjects in elementary and high schools, announcing the mortorium to grant new arms permits to change law etc.

Protest was organised by the student group “Cameo Subra” ( Kah tomorrow, who stressed that they have nothing to do with any political party and that the protests are organising them without any party influence. / VOA