Serbia: A Place Where Deadly Crime Is Part of Life

The international police official, versed in the violent perils of Serbian life, made sure that Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic knew he could become a marked man long before two sniper bullets ended the leader's life on Wednesday.

"I warned the new government that they would have many problems with the old organization, with the interlocking relationship between criminals and police," said Marko Nicovic, a Serb who is a vice chief at Interpol. "I also warned Prime Minister Djindjic that he, too, would become a target at the moment he touched the interests of these people."

Actually, Djindjic (photo) did not need a warning to know that Serbia was a deadly dangerous place to live and govern. Drive-by shootings, explosions and Mafia-style shootouts are commonplace in the country, which still is recovering from the 13-year rule of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

"Dark forces who have mushroomed in the country since the 1990s are trying to turn back the clock," said Dobrivoje Radovanovic, an independent crime expert.

Killings go back to 1996

Those forces began exacting their bloody toll in 1996 after the horrors of the Balkan wars were finally stopped by the international community. Since then, nearly 10 high-ranking police and security officials have been slain. The toll has extended beyond the government's upper circle as well. The victims also included Zeljko Raznatovic, a feared Serbian paramilitary leader under indictment for war crimes who was shot to death in a hotel lobby in Belgrade in January 2000.

As the victims fell, Serbs suspected that Milosevic (photo) may have been one of the forces behind the attacks. But the killings continued after Djindjic and thousands of others drove Milosevic from power in October 2000. These attacks have claimed the lives of Monir Gavrilovic, a former Serbian secret police official, and of Gen. Bosko Buha, the deputy chief of Serbian public security.

Djindjic, who took office in February 2001 after elections, also knew that he had his own laundry list of enemies lurking in the country:

• He was despised by some for his role in toppling Milosevic and orchestrating his handover to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, in 2001.
• He outraged hardliners and nationalists by calling for more arrests of top Serbian indicted war crimes suspects, such as the world's No. 2 fugitive — former Bosnian Serb military commander Gen. Ratko Mladic — who is believed to be hiding in Serbia.
• And he was hated by the powerful Serbian crime bosses and warlords allied with Milosevic after he recently declared an open war on organized crime, rampant corruption and smuggling.

Organized crime blamed in attack

A day after the sniper bullets pierced his chest and stomach, the Serbian government left no doubt about whom it suspected was behind the attack. It blamed an underworld network called the Zemun Gang, whose name comes from a Belgrade suburb.

"The assassination of the Serbian Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic, represents an attempt to halt the government's fight against organized crime and for members of the crime syndicate to avoid arrest," a government statement said late Wednesday.

A few sentences later, it added: "The assassination of the Serbian Prime Minister represents an attempt by this group to create chaos, anarchy and fear; all things that create a favorable environment for this group to operate."

Since the attack, authorities have arrested 40 people, Belgrade Police Chief Milan Obradovic said on Thursday. But acting Prime Minister Zarko Korac acknowledged in a radio interview that the main suspects remained at large.

The government statement listed 20 alleged Zemun leaders, including Milorad Lukovic, a former head of the "Red Berets" -- a special police unit that fought in the Balkan wars. Also listed was Dejan Milenkovic, accused by police of trying to kill Djindjic last month with a truck that swerved toward the prime minister's convoy of cars.

Police searching cars

In the aftermath of the attack, the Supreme Defense Council ordered the army of Serbia and Montenegro to "raise the readiness level," a statement said. Police wearing flak jackets stopped and searched cars after the killing. The government urged news organizations to stick to its line and threatened to suspend any that broke the rules.

The assassination left Belgrade residents worried. "When the prime minister cannot live in security, what can the country's citizens expect?" one woman asked.