Kosovo ex-leader Thaci held at Hague war crimes court

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Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci was being held in detention in The Hague on Thursday, just hours after he resigned to face an indictment at a war crimes court, the tribunal said.

Ex-guerilla leader Thaci, who flew out of Pristina earlier Thursday, was "transferred to the detention facilities of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers" in the Dutch city, the court said in a statement.

Thaci, 52, said earlier he was stepping down to "protect the integrity" of the presidency after a judge confirmed an indictment against him linked to the 1990s conflict with Serbia, when Thaci was political chief of the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army.

Three other suspects were also transferred to The Hague: former Kosovo rebel spokesman Jakup Krasnigi, Thaci's closest political ally Kadri Veseli, and key Kosovo Liberation Army figure Rexhep Selimi, the court said.

The indictment charges Thaci and the others with the war crimes of murder, torture, illegal or arbitrary arrest and detention, and cruel treatment between March 1998 and September 1999.

They are also charged with the crimes against humanity of imprisonment, other inhumane acts, torture, murder, enforced disappearance of persons, and persecution.

The court said it would announce dates for the suspects' first appearance before the tribunal at a later date.