Tensions in the center of Sofia escalated after some of the protesters against the budget and the government gathered in front of the headquarters of "DPS-New Beginning" on "Vrabcha" Str. and "Vasil Levski" Blvd. shortly after 10:00 p.m. on Monday, NOVA reported.
The demonstrators - mostly young men in black clothes, with masks and hoods, threw bombs, stones and bottles and chanted "Resignation" and "Every day will be like this until victory". The party headquarters is tightly surrounded by a police cordon.
The protesters marched against the uniformed officers and some of the Christmas decorations in the area. One of them waved a flag of the Bulgarian Football Union. The police used pepper spray to repel them.
Minutes later, the demonstrators began to overturn garbage containers, climb on them and push them towards the law enforcement officers. Some of the dissatisfied set fire to garbage cans.
The group of protesters in question is visibly different from those who had gathered in the Triangle of Power.
After the escalation of tension in front of the headquarters of "DPS-Novo nachalo", the demonstrators headed to the GERB office located on "Dondukov" Blvd. There, containers were also set on fire and clashes with the uniformed officers continued. The building itself was completely destroyed.
During the escalation of tension, serious damage was also caused to a police car and a fire truck.
About an hour after the clashes began, the fire on "Dondukov" Blvd. was extinguished.
In the first minutes after the battle scenes began, "We continue the change" came out with a warning: "The agitators came in front of the MRF headquarters. Be careful! Avoid "Vasil Levski" Blvd., where there is no electricity," the formation wrote on its Facebook page.
In his post, Kiril Petkov called on all demonstrators to adhere to a peaceful protest. "Do not give in to provocations. We have shown that we are many and that our voice is strong. There should be no bombs thrown, no destruction or vandalism of our city. Let us end this peaceful protest with dignity and unity," he wrote.
President Rumen Radev also posted a post on the social network. "This is not a clash between police and protesters, but a provocation by the mafia, which aims to confront them. The violence must stop. I call on everyone to adhere to law. Provocations do not change the fact: Bulgarians said NO to this government. There is only one way out: resignation and early elections," the head of state wrote.
„A theatrical performance is taking place here. It started at the intersection with a provocation to the police. 25 boys with black hoods started smashing cars, and the police did absolutely nothing”, Elisaveta Belobradova told NOVA. She added that buckets were set on fire, and the fire department reacted slowly.
„These boys vandalized the entire GERB office, without a single policeman doing anything. I went several times to ask them to intervene, because there were 20 boys”, Belobradova said.
She is categorical that these are provocateurs. „These agitators were brought in to go and smash the GERB office. So that the next day we can have a scene where they tell us how the protesters smashed the office. The police did absolutely nothing and this is very important to say. I was absolutely shocked. I have never seen anything like this,” she continued.