Incident Summary:
03/12/2003: Zvezdan Jovanovic, deputy commander of the Red Berets [JSO], shot reformist prime minister of Serbia, Zoran Dijindic, while he was standing outside the Serbian seat of government in Belgrade. Jovanovic was working under former JSO officer and leader of the Zuman Clan, Milorad Lukovic alias Legija. The two were arrested along with other JSO members for participation in the assassination. They were angered by Dijindic’s pro-western ideals, and by the fact that he took part in sending former President, Slobodan Milosevic, to the UN War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague.
Overview
GTD ID:
200303120007
When:
2003-03-12
Country:
Serbia-Montenegro
Region:
Eastern Europe
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Belgrade
City:
Belgrade
Location Details:
Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was shot in front of his government headquarters in Belgrade.
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Assassination |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Government (General) |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Serbian Prime Minister |
| Specific Description |
Zoran Djindjic |
| Nationality of Target |
Serbia-Montenegro |
| Target Type: Government (General) |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
|
| Specific Description |
|
| Nationality of Target |
|
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Firearms |
Rifle/Shotgun (non-automatic) |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| A Heckler & Koch rifle was used. |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
| Additional Information |
Zvezdan Jovanovic was a Kosovan Serb and the deputy commander of the Red Berets. Milorad Lukovic alias Legija was a former Red Berets commander. He is head of the Zemun Clan, a Serbian organised crime ring, and was the alleged mastermind behind the assassination. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Zemun Clan |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Personal claim) |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
1 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
13 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
1 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
1 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
| Total Number of Injured |
0 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| Traynor, Ian. “Man held for murder of Serbian leader.” The Guardian, March 26, 2003, Guardian Foreign Pages, Pg. 17 |
| “Three Serbian Police Probed for Lack of Discipline During Trial.” ONASA News Agency, April 22, 2004 |
| “Serbia: Djindjic murder trial adjourned after reading of defendant's confession” BBC Sumary of World Broadcasts: Tanjug News Agency, December 25, 2003 |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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