NATO-backed separatist found responsible for war crimes

A tribunal in The Hague has convicted former Kosovo Liberation Army leader Hashim Thaci Hashim Thaci, the former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), has been found responsible for war crimes committed by the militant group during its NATO-backed campaign to break away from Serbia in the 1990s.The ethnic Albanian, who served as the first president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo, has been found guilty of the murder of 96 political opponents and suspected Serbian collaborators, the verdict said. He was also convicted for the unlawful detention and torture of hundreds of people.The 58-year-old Thaci and three other former KLA leaders tried in The Hague are widely regarded as national heroes in Kosovo. Thaci has denied the charges. His defense argued that senior figures in the KLA could not control rank-and-file separatist fighters and thus could not be held responsible for crimes committed under their leadership. Lawyers described the group as lacking a strict military hierarchy during the 1998-99 conflict.NATO’s bombing campaign targeting Serbia, which Washington and its European allies framed as a humanitarian intervention, ensured KLA’s victory. Belgrade does not ...