World Bulletin / News Desk

Montenegro's High Court has ordered the month-long detention of a group of Serbians suspected of planning an anti-government attack during parliamentary elections at the weekend, whose result the opposition contested Wednesday.

Authorities said the Serbian group -- allegedly headed by retired police chief Bratislav Dikic -- plotted to seize the prime minister and parliament and proclaim victory for the opposition.

The former police chief denied the charges and launched a hunger strike in protest, his lawyer Milan Petrovic said. 

"My client denied the charges and said he was visiting Montenegro to go to the Ostrog (Orthodox) monastery," Petrovic told reporters.

With all the ballots counted, Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) won more than 40 percent of the votes -- more than double that of the main opposition Democratic Front. 

But the opposition contested the result, saying the arrests late on Saturday had influenced the outcome.