Montenegro detains dozens of Turks, Azeris after weekend violence

27/10/2025 18:34

Police in Montenegro said on Monday they had detained dozens of Turkish and Azeri nationals after a weekend of violence triggered by the stabbing of a Montenegrin man in the capital Podgorica by a group of Turks.



President Jakov Milatovic has called for calm, while Prime Minister Milojko Spajic said his government would temporarily suspend a visa-free regime for Turkish nationals.



The Montenegrin man was stabbed on Saturday night after an exchange of insults with a group of Turkish citizens, though his injuries were not life-threatening.

Dozens of local people on Sunday retaliated by vandalising vehicles with Turkish number plates and at one point forced some Turkish citizens to barricade themselves in a casino.



The police said they had detained two people suspected of being involved in the stabbing incident, a Turkish national and an Azeri, as well as an additional 45 Turkish and Azeri citizens suspected of lacking legal residence documents.



They fined seven of those detained and ordered the deportation of eight others, police said in a statement.