Serbia’s president says he won’t flee his country like Syria’s Assad did despite growing protests

Associated Press

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić says he isn’t like ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad and has no intention of fleeing the country despite spreading protests against his increasingly autocratic rule. Assad has fled to Moscow and received asylum from his longtime ally Russia hours after a stunning rebel advance seized control of Damascus and ended his family’s half-century of iron rule. Vučić’s opponents in Serbia have compared him to Assad and other world dictators. They predict that Vučić may also try to flee the country if he loses his form grip on power amid protests triggered by a rail station roof collapse in the northern city of Novi Sad that killed 15 people. But Vučić said Tuesday that he wouldn’t flee Serbia.