SKOPJE, North Macedonia — The leader of the main ethnic Albanian party in North Macedonia said he has been invited to appear as a witness at the special international court on alleged crimes during and after the Kosovo’s 1998-1999 war, in which he fought. Ali Ahmeti, leader of the Democratic Union for Integration party in North Macedonia where ethnic Albanians make up at least one-fourth of its 2 million population, posted on Facebook late on Wednesday that The Hague, Netherlands-based Special Prosecutor’s office “invited me to testify as one of the founders of the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) and a member of the General Staff." Ahmeti, a former KLA founder and member, said he had accepted the invitation "and made constructive contact and cooperation with officials in The Hague.”The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, which has international staff working under Kosovo law, is mandated to look into allegations that KLA members committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. It has interviewed hundreds of KLA former fighters since early 2019.

Source: International New York Times July 23, 2020 12:45 UTC