Police on alert, buses entering Banja Luka being checked

The streets of Banja Luka are filled with police officers who are to secure two protests today, one by the opposition and one by the authorities, scheduled for 12:00, only a few hundred meters apart, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

While the opposition has scheduled its gathering in Mladen Stojanović Park, the SNSD and Milorad Dodik are holding a counter-rally at Trg Krajine.

The gathering of citizens has already begun, and there are fears of clashes breaking out between the two groups.

Buses with citizens are already arriving, and a police cordon has already been dispatched to Mladen Stojanović Park.

Due to today's events, most of the main roads are blocked. Police have also been deployed at the entrances to Banja Luka to check the buses bringing citizens in.