Serbia declares state of emergency after assassination

Serbia declared a state of emergency last night after its Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic, was assassinated.

Mr Djindjic, one of the leaders of the uprising that toppled the former president Slobodan Milosevic, was gunned down in an ambush near government headquarters. It was the first assassination of a sitting European head of government since the Swedish Prime Minister, Olof Palme, was murdered in Stockholm in 1986.

Mr Djindjic was shot by snipers in the abdomen and back at 12.25pm and was pronounced dead in a Belgrade hospital an hour later. Three suspects were arrested and two sniper rifles were found on the top of a building near where Mr Djindjic had been shot.

The Cabinet declared three days of mourning. Natasa Micic, the acting President, imposed a state of emergency amid fears of more violence in a power struggle to find his successor.

Mr Djindjic had many enemies because of his pro-Western policies. He played an important role in handing Mr Milosevic to the War Crimes tribunal in 2001. His campaign against organised crime made him unpopular with powerful Serbian mafia bosses and warlords.

An assassination attempt was reported to have been made on Mr Djindjic last month when a lorry suddenly cut into the lane in which his motorcade was travelling to the airport.

Tony Blair said he was "deeply shocked and saddened" by the news of Mr Djindjic's death. "His murder is a loss to all those, from whatever political party, who have made strenuous efforts to deliver a better future for Serbia," the Prime Minister said.