Serbian war crime prosecutors indict 17 ethnic Albanians
Serbian war crimes prosecutors indicted 17 ethnic Albanians on Friday for war crimes against civilians in Kosovo after the 1999 NATO bombings.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Friday, June 26, 2009
The former members of the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army, eight of whom remain at large, were accused of killing at least 52 Serbs, Roma and Albanians, the prosecution said in a statement.
They were charged with the illegal detention, inhumane treatment, torture, and mutilation of their victims, as well as raping a large number of women, all with the aim of forcing Serbs out of Kosovo.
The alleged war crimes occurred in the Gnjilane region of southeastern Kosovo between June and September 1999.
Those indicted were ethnic Albanians who had entered Kosovo from southern Serbia and neighboring Macedonia to join the rebel army's 138th brigade, dubbed the "Gnjilane Group," said the prosecution statement.
Prosecutors intended to try the eight fugitives in absentia, while the other nine defendants were already in custody after being arrested in Serbia's south in December.
