Serbian Ex-Military Attache's Corpse Identified in Libya

Radunkovic, who was a retired colonel of the army of the former Yugoslavia and then Serbia and Montenegro, died of a heart attack, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry in Serbia this afternoon.

“Radunkovic died on Saturday of a heart attack shortly after he came to the embassy where he complained that something was wrong. An employee of the embassy tried to help him and called an ambulance. The medical team concluded that he had died as a result of a heart attack,” the statement read.

The statement added that his body had been transferred to the Institute of Pathology which later wrote a report stating that there were no signs of internal or external injuries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had been in touch with Radunkovic’s family and arranged for his corpse to be flown back to Serbia tomorrow.

The former Yugoslavia and Libya became close business and military partners after Gaddafi overthrew the Libyan monarchy in 1969. During the recent uprising in Libya, Belgrade has not been vocal in opposing the brutal force used by Gaddafi’s forces to quell what began as peaceful protests.

Radunkovic is understood to have served as a military attaché in Libya from 2000 and retired in 2005. One media outlet has since alleged that he continued travelling to Libya after this period as a representative of a private Belgrade firm which allegedly specialised in trading arms. Balkan Insight has not been able to substantiate these allegations.

In an interview with Belgrade's broadcaster B92 in March, Radunkovic reportedly said that "Gaddafi has never been preparing for war against its own people, which shows the state of the military." He said he was referring to obsolete weapons in the Libyan army.