Kosovo president resigns to face war crimes charges

KOSOVO President Hashim Thaci, a leader during Kosovo’s war for independence, has resigned in order to face charges on war crimes and crimes against humanity at a special court based in The Hague.

Thaci announced his resignation at a news conference on Thursday.

He said he was taking the step “to protect the integrity of the presidency of Kosovo.”

He announced his immediate resignation after his closest ally and the head of his Democratic Party, Kadri Veseli, also said that he has been indicted and would travel to The Hague for the trial that he was stepping down “now”.

According to a draft indictment revealed in June, Thaci, Veseli and others committed “nearly 100 murders” and other atrocities against “hundreds of known victims of Kosovo Albanian, Serb, Roma, and other ethnicities” and including political opponents.