Tens of thousands took to the streets of Serbia on Saturday to protest a proposed lithium mining project in the Jadar valley - with the country's president saying he had been tipped off to "mass unrest and a coup" by Russia.
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00:00Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Belgrade for a rally against lithium mining
00:05in Serbia, despite officials warning of an alleged plot to topple President Alexander
00:11Vucic and his government.
00:14Vucic said he was tipped off by Russian intelligence services that mass unrest and a coup were
00:19being prepared by unspecified Western players that wished to oust him from power.
00:26The rally came after weeks of protests across Serbia against a plan to allow lithium mining
00:31in a lush valley in the west of the country.
00:34The plan was scrapped in 2022 after large demonstrations, but was revived last month
00:40amidst a tentative deal on critical raw materials signed by Vucic's government with the EU.
00:47The government says the mine is an opportunity to develop economically, but critics say it
00:52would inflict irreparable pollution on, and damage to, the Jadar valley.
00:57Tens of thousands have turned out for environment protection rallies throughout Serbia in the
01:02past weeks, posing a major challenge to Vucic and his increasingly autocratic rule.