Party faithful heckle Milosevic envoy

Delegates at a Serbian Socialist Party conference in Belgrade have heckled a message from their leader, Slobodan Milosevic.

Mr Milosevic is on trial for war crimes at the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.

His envoy tried to read a letter to the conference, but was shouted down and forced to leave the stage.

In the letter, the former Yugoslav leader accused several party moderates of being traitor and of working for Serbia's pro-Western government.

He demanded that they be expelled.

Delegates nonetheless voted overwhelmingly for Mr Milosevic to remain the party's president.

Correspondents say the incident highlights the deep divisions within the party between moderates and hardliners loyal to Mr Milosevic.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service