Prosecutors from the Kosovo war crimes tribunal in The Hague have detained their first suspect, the prosecutor’s office said.
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The detainee is Salih Mustafa, a former high-ranking commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KAA).
The Kosovo War Crimes Tribunal was established in 2015 following pressure from the United States and Europe on the Kosovo government to try war crimes committed by Kosovo Liberation Army militants against ethnic Serbs.
Mustafa was detained today in Kosovo and is being transferred to The Hague, where he will be brought to justice immediately, the prosecutor’s office said.
It is not yet known exactly what charges have been brought against Mustafa. They will only be made public when the accused goes to court.
In June, the court indicted Kosovo President Hashim Tachi for war crimes. He was questioned but not detained.
Mustafa, who is currently working for the Kosovo Ministry of Defense as commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, is known to have been operating in northern Kosovo.
He then headed the intelligence service of the Kosovo Security Force, which was formed from the demilitarized Kosovo Liberation Army.
In the war between the Kosovo Albanian separatists – the Kosovo Liberation Army – and Serbian forces in 1998 and 1999, some 13,000 people lost their lives.
The war ended when a NATO air force operation forced Serbian forces to leave the province.
Kosovo’s independence has been recognized by more than 110 countries, including the United States and most European Union (EU) Member States.
Although Belgrade has lost control of Kosovo, it insists that it has sovereignty over it.
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