Fatal Gang Clashes Rock Serbian Cities

A series of violent criminal attacks and incidents in Belgrade and Novi Sad in recent weeks have prompted experts to warn that criminals are using not only firearms but also bombs and shooting from passing cars in the course of ever-bolder attacks.

Sasa Djordjevic, from the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, told BIRN that 119 days since the Serbian state declared "war" on the mafia, not much had been done.

"Since the violence on the streets is not slowing down and we have more innocent victims, the impression is that Serbia cannot deal with this war," Djordjevic said.

Referring to Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic's declaration of "war on the mafia" last October, Djordjevic said the real state of affairs was being covered up by use of positive statistics - and the problem was systemic and equally existed in the police, prosecution and judiciary.

On January 30, 25-year-old Vlastimir Milosevic was found dead with gunshot wounds in the head in a street in Belgrade. Six days later, police arrested a fan leader of the Belgrade sports club Partizan, Veljko Belivuk, on suspicion of the crime.

Reports also said Belivuk had been a close friend of Aleksandar Stankovic, also one of the leaders of Partizan fan club, who was killed last October in Belgrade.

Stankovic was a convicted drug leader and part of a group of people who attacked the director of Partizan, Milos Vazura, the previous April. Vazura escaped but one of his security staff was seriously injured.

Investigative journalists found out that all the participants in these incidents had received court sentences, in cases that had waited years to be applied.

Djordjevic said cooperation between the prosecution and the police was poor and...