A Serbian man, who stormed into the Serbian presidential building before noon on Thursday with two hand grenades, was disarmed by the police in the afternoon after the five-hour standoff.

Dragan Maric, who had threatened to blow himself up in the building housing Serbian president's office, was disarmed, the president's press office spokeswoman Jasmina Stojanov said in a statement, without specifying the details.

Police said that Maric was taken to a Belgrade detention unit where he will be interrogated by an investigative judge.

Maric burst into the downtown building at a side entrance at 11:35 a.m. local time (0935 GMT), threatening to activate a bomb unless he is guaranteed a court settlement. Members of military police immediately confiscated one of the two hand grenades he had but he succeeded in retaining the other one, threatening to activate it.

A negotiating team formed by the Serbian police entered the presidential building about two hours later. Immediately after the team, Serbian President Boris Tadic arrived and stayed in the building the whole time with members of his cabinet and employees, according to his office.

After the incident, Tadic congratulated the police and army special units, the security and negotiation team for doing a terrific job, peacefully and with no casualties.

Tadic said that problems, no matter what kind, cannot be resolved by force and by jeopardizing citizens' lives.

"The police and the army ensure the security of Serbian citizens in the best possible way which was confirmed today," Tadic said.

Maric, once a wealthy businessman, has staged several public hunger strikes since his company went bankrupt in the early 2000s over a court case involving his private company and national carrier Jat Airways. In 2004, he threatened to burn himself alive. He also offered his kidney for sale that year to get money for living.

Before entering the presidential building, Maric sent an e-mailto numerous Serbian and European institutions and media stations demanding a "fair settlement with the government, or else (he will)activate the bombs."

A court spokeswoman said no case connected to Maric was being tried but that he had recently made death threats against court officials.

Source:Xinhua