Thousands protest in Croatia to demand government clean up toxic waste

Demonstrators in Zagreb accuse Croatia’s government of dragging its feet on a hazardous waste scandal.By AFP and The Associated PressPublished On 5 Sep 20265 Sep 2026Tens of thousands of protesters have marched through the Croatian capital demanding the government urgently clear a vast illegal dump of hazardous waste that residents say is poisoning a once-pristine mountain region.Saturday’s demonstration in Zagreb was one of the largest protests Croatia has seen in years, driven by growing frustration that authorities have spent months failing to remove more than 30,000 tonnes of waste, including medical and industrial material, buried near the town of Gospic in the mountainous Lika region.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘An impasse’: EU ministers fail to break deadlock over Israel and Ukrainelist 2 of 3‘I was born here’: UK art show explores Muslim life, Islamic historylist 3 of 3Western Balkans truck drivers threaten EU border blockadeend of listThe anger has widened into a broader challenge to Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic’s conservative government, which opponents accuse of corruption and of covering up the pollution’s true scale.Police and Europol, the European...