SERBIA: Serbian police began a massive man-hunt of the criminal underworld yesterday in the search for the killer of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, who was assassinated on Wednesday.
More than 200 people connected to the country's mafia were arrested in a series of raids across the country.
Belgrade police chief Milan Obradovic said those caught included members of the gang suspected of the killing, but they were the tip of the iceberg: "Certain among them are members of the group, but most of them are still at large."
Meanwhile, the country began to grieve, with tearful bystanders coming with flowers to the government building where Mr Djindjic was shot.
The man at the centre of the hunt, former special forces commander Milorad Lukovic, remains free.
The government said former Foreign Legionnaire Lukovic is suspected of ordering the killing, in which a sniper hit Mr Djindjic with two bullets.
But the authorities remain jittery and Belgrade is still ringed by police and army checkpoints.
"I want to assure you that we will arrest all those responsible for this crime," said Serbian Interior Minister Mr Dusan Mihajlovic. "We will liquidate anyone who resists the police."
A state of emergency remains in force and army units across the country have been raised to combat readiness. More roadblocks remain around the airport, with tight security on flights.
Security has also been stepped up around the TV station and key government offices.
Serbia's newspapers have joined in the hunt, printing photographs of the wanted men.
Other men being sought are Dejan Milenkovic, who drove a truck into a motorcade in a failed assassination attempt against Mr Djindjic two weeks ago.
But splits are already showing in the administration. The party of former Yugoslav president Vojislav Kostunica, Mr Djindjic's rival, said the state of emergency was unnecessary.
The government, led now by Mr Djindjic's former deputy, Mr Nebojsa Covic, begs to disagree: Lukovic's Red Berets were once Serbia's most elite force - the one that protected Slobodan Milosevic.
Lukovic later transferred loyalty to Mr Djindjic, enabling protesters to topple Milosevic when he tried to hang onto power in 2000.
But Lukovic's gangland connections caused friction with Mr Djindjic, and there was speculation Mr Djindjic might hand the commander over to the war crimes court in The Hague.
Ordinary Serbs are also in shock. While Mr Djindjic was a controversial figure, he was also the only leader who seemed to have a firm grip on political realities.
While criticised for being slow to hand over war crimes suspects, Mr Djindjic was supported by the West for steering Serbia onto a progressive path.
And many fear that chaos and anarchy could follow, with no obvious candidate to fill Mr Djindjic's shoes.
Mr Stipe Mesic, president of Croatia, which fought with Serbia in the 1990s, said the attack could destabilise the whole of the Balkan region.