BELGRADE, March 17: Slobodan Milosevic’s family on Friday pulled out of his funeral, citing threats and a row over his resting place, as Serbia prepared a final farewell to the former leader whose 13-year rule brought the nation to its knees.

A senior official in Milosevic’s party said that neither his widow, Mira Markovic, nor son Marko would fly in for Saturday’s funeral to take place on the grounds of the family home in Pozarevac.

The official, Milorad Vucelic, said it was because Serbian authorities had made “contradictory statements”, a reference to guarantees the family had been seeking that they would not be arrested.

But he added that the decision was also taken “especially because of threats and blackmail addressed to Mira Markovic,” widely believed to have been living in Russia since 2003.—AFP