But the convoy of jeeps with darkened windows which arrived at the courthouse in central Belgrade left again soon afterwards and Milosevic was then seen greeting a crowd of around 100 supporters gathered outside his home. One senior Serb political source said problems with the arrest were due to different stances of the police and Yugoslav army, which guards the official residence in which Milosevic has continued to live despite his downfall. The United States, which was first informed by Yugoslav officials late on Friday that Milosevic was under arrest, and other diplomatic powers were left holding their breath after Milosevic reappeared in public and confusion surrounded his fate. Apparently talking from his house after the first arrest attempt, he told a Belgrade radio station he was fine. His future hung in the balance after the arrival of the commandos at high speed in a white can and several other vehicles.
Shots rang out as they took up positions inside and outside the residence.
The official said he had no further information on what charges Milosevic had been arrested for, nor if it was just a detention and not an actual arrest. The reported move came on the eve of a deadline set by U.S. legislation for President George W. Bush to declare Yugoslavia is cooperating with the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal, which has indicted Milosevic, or impose economic sanctions on Belgrade. But they have left open the possibility that local justice authorities might order his arrest for alleged offences such as corruption. U.S. officials have accepted it is unlikely Milosevic himself will be handed over to the war crimes tribunal by the deadline imposed by Congress. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said later on Friday that the Bush administration would not announce a decision on whether Yugoslavia has met the conditions for aid until Monday at the earliest.