(ANSA-AFP) - BELGRADE, AUG 16 - Thousands of anti-government protesters again clashed with police in Serbia's capital on Friday, as days of unrest fuelled fears of a worsening crackdown on a months-long push for early elections. After a tense stand-off between right-wing government loyalists and the larger crowd of protesters, fireworks, tear gas, and stun grenades erupted among the anti-graft demonstrators, according to an AFP journalist in the crowd. It sparked a series of clashes with riot police in central Belgrade on Friday, and marks the fourth straight night of violence between police and rival groups in the Balkan nation. Almost daily protests -- some drawing hundreds of thousands -- have gripped Serbia since November, after a railway station roof collapse crushed 16 people to death. The tragedy became a symbol of deep-rooted corruption in the Balkan nation, as frustrated demands for a transparent investigation grew into calls for early elections. The mostly peaceful demonstrations escalated this week as large groups of pro-government supporters, many masked and some armed with batons and fireworks, attacked protesters. "I don't want to live in a country of police repression," 46-year-old Zeljko from Belgrade told AFP, as he stood with protesters outside government buildings before the violence. A hundred metres away, dozens of government supporters, dressed in black T-shirts, aimed green lasers at the crowd, an apparent attempt to provoke the larger group. "They beat the people and protect criminals with crowbars. I came to say we won't accept that," Zeljko said, referring to alleged police violence against protesters. Dozens have been arrested at rallies around the country in recent days, after violence between the groups ended in the ransacking of the ruling party's offices in the northern city of Novi Sad. (ANSA-AFP).