Kosovo Tribunal says war crimes suspect arrested

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers, an international war crimes court, said on Thursday that prosecutors had arrested suspect Salih Mustafa on its orders in Kosovo and he is being transported to the Netherlands. Mustafa, who would be the first suspect in court custody, was a senior Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander during the 1998-99 Kosovo conflict.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers, an international war crimes court, said on Thursday that prosecutors had arrested suspect Salih Mustafa on its orders in Kosovo and he is being transported to the Netherlands. Mustafa, who would be the first suspect in court custody, was a senior Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander during the 1998-99 Kosovo conflict. The court said in a brief statement it had confirmed an indictment against Mustafa, though it did not detail what charges he faces.

"Mr Mustafa is being transferred to the detention facilities of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague and will appear before the pre-trial judge without undue delay," it said. The tribunal was set up in The Hague in 2015 to try war crimes and atrocities committed during Kosovo's 1998-99 uprising against Serb rule.