The trial of Kosovar ex-president Hashim Thaci and three other former commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) begins on Monday before the special tribunal in The Hague. Thaci and the three co-accused are accused of almost a hundred murders, as well as kidnapping, persecution and torture.
Established in 2015, the special tribunal deals specifically with crimes committed during the 1998-1999 Kosovo War. At that time, KLA rebels and Serbian forces led by then-President Slobodan Milosevic were fighting for control of the country. More than 13,000 people were killed during the war. In 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. However, the government in Belgrade still considers it a Serbian province.
