Kosovo PM indictment leads to security fears
A British army battalion has been send to Kosovo after the UN mission in the Serb province raised its security threat level to Stage Black.
The reason for the sudden call on 500 troops from the Royal Green Jackets became apparent today when it was revealed that Kosovo’s Prime Minister has been indicted by the UN war crimes court and plans to resign.
Ramush Haradinaj revealed during a government session that he had been indicted and would step down, said officials, who asked for anonymity.
Haradinaj, a former leader of the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army, appealed to his Cabinet to remain calm, the officials said.
The UN advised it nonessential staff to remain at home in western Kosovo due to an ongoing police operation, an official said today.
The UN mission in Kosovo elevated its security threat level around the western Kosovo town of Pec, said the UN’s spokesman in Kosovo, Hua Jiang. Stage Black means only essential staff have to report for duty, she said.
“It is because of an ongoing police operation,” Jiang said, but would not elaborate.
Western Kosovo is Haradinaj’s home region.
He was questioned late last year by the UN war crimes investigators for his role in Kosovo’s 1998-1999 war. He served as a commander of the ethnic Albanian rebel force, Kosovo Liberation Army, in the west of the province.
Nato headquarters decided to send in the British battalion after assessing the security situation in the province, Kermabon said.
Kosovo, which officially remains part of Serbia, has been administered by the UN and Nato since 1999, following the alliance’s war aimed at halting a crackdown by Serb troops on ethnic Albanian rebels.
The chief UN war crimes prosecutor has said on several occasions that former senior ethnic Albanian rebels are being investigated over whether they committed war crimes in their fight against Serb forces.
No war crimes indictments have been filed against them yet by the court, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands.
