(Vatican Radio) The European Union's justice mission in Kosovo has charged 15 former
Kosovo rebel fighters of killing civilians and other alleged war crimes during the
armed conflict in 1998 and 1999 with Serbian forces. In a statement the EU's Rule
of Law mission in Kosovo, Eulex, said the "charges related to crimes" allegedly committed
at a detention center run by rebels of the Kosovo Liberation Army, or KLA, in 1998
It said the 15 defendants are "charged with criminal offences, including war crimes
against the civilian population, such as torture, mistreatment of prisoners, and murder."
The EU prosecutes war crimes seen as too sensitive for local courts in Kosovo
where ethnic tensions remain high.
The identities of the defendants were not
revealed, but local media said that they include former KLA commander Sylejman Selimi,
who is now Kosovo's ambassador to Albania, and Sami Lushtaku, mayor of the northern
town of Srbica and a top official in Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's ruling party. Their
lawyers have denied their clients were involved in war crimes. The detention
center where the crimes allegedly occurred was based in the northwestern Drenica
region, the wartime stronghold of the predominantly ethnic Albanian fighters who were
seeking independence for Kosovo from Serbia. The incidents happened during their
battle against forces of then Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, who himself was
prosecuted for war crimes but died before a conviction. More than 10,000 people
were killed and hundreds of thousands of people were driven from their homes during
the war, prompting the NATO military alliance to intervene. Kosovo eventually
declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move was opposed by Belgrade.
The
international community is divided over recognition of the former Serbian province.