BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro March 12 Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic a key leader of the revolt that toppled former President Slobodan Milosevic in October 2000 was seriously wounded Wednesday in an assassination attempt.
Independent B-92 radio said Djindjic was shot in the chest while entering the government building in Belgrade and that his condition was "very serious." The state Tanjug news agency also confirmed that Djindjic was seriously injured.
The prime minister played a key role in Milosevic's extradition to the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands,
Sources from Djindjic's Cabinet told The Associated Press that Djindjic sustained two shots in his stomach and back, and that doctors were "fighting for his life" in Belgrade's emergency hospital.
A doctor in the emergency ward told the AP that Djindjic was hit in the stomach and back and that he underwent surgery. The hospital was blocked by a large number of police officers.
Two people were arrested and one was injured in the shooting, witnesses said.
The building was sealed off by heavy state security, and three ambulances were parked in front.
Djindjic, 50, appeared to have been targeted last month, when a truck suddenly cut into the lane in which his motorcade was traveling to Belgrade's airport. The motorcade narrowly avoided a collision, and Djindjic later dismissed the Feb. 21 incident as a "futile effort" that could not stop democratic reforms.
"If someone thinks the law and the reforms can be stopped by eliminating me, then that is a huge delusion," Djindjic was quoted as saying by the Politika newspaper at the time.
Djindjic, who spearheaded the popular revolt that toppled Milosevic in October 2000, had many enemies because of his pro-reformist and Western stands.
Djindjic, a pro-Western leader, sees Serbia's fate as linked to the West and has favored greater cooperation with the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, where Milosevic now is standing trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.
He was pivotal in arresting and handing Milosevic to the war crimes tribunal in June 2001. For this, he was blasted by Serbian nationalists, including his former ally Vojislav Kostunica, who stepped down as Yugoslav president earlier this month after the formation of a new state, Serbia and Montenegro.
Djindjic's feud with Kostunica since the two jointly toppled Milosevic has virtually paralyzed the country's much-needed economic and social reforms.
Djindjic was often criticized by his opponents for seeking too much power and for "mercilessly" combating his political rivals.
A German-educated technocrat known to supporters as "The Manager" for his organizational skills and as "Little Slobo" to his detractors for his authoritarian tendencies, Djindjic nonetheless managed to gain some political capital from his willingness to surrender Milosevic despite a constitutional ban on extraditing Serbian citizens.
Though derided for his fondness for big cars and flashy suits, Djindjic's trade of Milosevic for US$1.2 billion in international economic aid appeared to have won respect from people desperate to improve a living standard that ranks among the lowest in Europe.
Last month, Djindjic's government asked NATO for permission to send troops back to Kosovo, nearly four years after the NATO warplanes bombed Serb forces to oust them from the province, if there is a war in Iraq.
Djindjic said Serb troops would fill any security vacuum in Kosovo if NATO withdraws troops for military action in Iraq. However, no plans have been announced to reduce the number of troops in the peacekeeping force because of the current Iraqi crisis.
Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO fought an air war to end then-Yugoslav President Milosevic's crackdown on the province's independence-minded ethnic Albanians. A NATO-led peacekeeping force of 30,000 troops is stationed in Kosovo, which remains part of Yugoslavia.
Djindjic had many enemies because of his pro-reformist and pro-Western stands.
Djindjic, a pro-Western leader, sees Serbia's fate as linked to the West and has favored greater cooperation with The Hague tribunal, where Milosevic now is standing trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.
I'm a little shocked, but not surprised.
Independent B-92 radio said Djindjic was shot in the chest while entering the government building in Belgrade and that his condition was "very serious." The state Tanjug news agency also confirmed that Djindjic was seriously injured.
The prime minister played a key role in Milosevic's extradition to the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands,
Sources from Djindjic's Cabinet told The Associated Press that Djindjic sustained two shots in his stomach and back, and that doctors were "fighting for his life" in Belgrade's emergency hospital.
A doctor in the emergency ward told the AP that Djindjic was hit in the stomach and back and that he underwent surgery. The hospital was blocked by a large number of police officers.
Two people were arrested and one was injured in the shooting, witnesses said.
The building was sealed off by heavy state security, and three ambulances were parked in front.
Djindjic, 50, appeared to have been targeted last month, when a truck suddenly cut into the lane in which his motorcade was traveling to Belgrade's airport. The motorcade narrowly avoided a collision, and Djindjic later dismissed the Feb. 21 incident as a "futile effort" that could not stop democratic reforms.
"If someone thinks the law and the reforms can be stopped by eliminating me, then that is a huge delusion," Djindjic was quoted as saying by the Politika newspaper at the time.
Djindjic, who spearheaded the popular revolt that toppled Milosevic in October 2000, had many enemies because of his pro-reformist and Western stands.
Djindjic, a pro-Western leader, sees Serbia's fate as linked to the West and has favored greater cooperation with the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, where Milosevic now is standing trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.
He was pivotal in arresting and handing Milosevic to the war crimes tribunal in June 2001. For this, he was blasted by Serbian nationalists, including his former ally Vojislav Kostunica, who stepped down as Yugoslav president earlier this month after the formation of a new state, Serbia and Montenegro.
Djindjic's feud with Kostunica since the two jointly toppled Milosevic has virtually paralyzed the country's much-needed economic and social reforms.
Djindjic was often criticized by his opponents for seeking too much power and for "mercilessly" combating his political rivals.
A German-educated technocrat known to supporters as "The Manager" for his organizational skills and as "Little Slobo" to his detractors for his authoritarian tendencies, Djindjic nonetheless managed to gain some political capital from his willingness to surrender Milosevic despite a constitutional ban on extraditing Serbian citizens.
Though derided for his fondness for big cars and flashy suits, Djindjic's trade of Milosevic for US$1.2 billion in international economic aid appeared to have won respect from people desperate to improve a living standard that ranks among the lowest in Europe.
Last month, Djindjic's government asked NATO for permission to send troops back to Kosovo, nearly four years after the NATO warplanes bombed Serb forces to oust them from the province, if there is a war in Iraq.
Djindjic said Serb troops would fill any security vacuum in Kosovo if NATO withdraws troops for military action in Iraq. However, no plans have been announced to reduce the number of troops in the peacekeeping force because of the current Iraqi crisis.
Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO fought an air war to end then-Yugoslav President Milosevic's crackdown on the province's independence-minded ethnic Albanians. A NATO-led peacekeeping force of 30,000 troops is stationed in Kosovo, which remains part of Yugoslavia.
Djindjic had many enemies because of his pro-reformist and pro-Western stands.
Djindjic, a pro-Western leader, sees Serbia's fate as linked to the West and has favored greater cooperation with The Hague tribunal, where Milosevic now is standing trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.
I'm a little shocked, but not surprised.
