Kosovo Protesters Clash With Police After Hague Conviction of Ex-President Thaci

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Pristina on Wednesday to protest the conviction of four former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, in a rally that turned tense as scuffles broke out with police.

Protesters waved KLA flags and chanted "Free the Liberators" and "KLA," voicing support for the former commanders and rejecting the verdict, which is widely seen in Kosovo as unjust.

Trouble flared when the crowd attempted to move toward the government building. A scuffle followed between protesters and police, with demonstrators trying to pull down a fence and some attempting to climb over it. Rocks were thrown at the building, and windows were broken, as riot police held their positions.

Former President Hashim Thaci resigned from office nearly six years ago to face charges before the European Union-backed court. He was convicted on four counts of war crimes, including murder, torture, cruel treatment, and arbitrary detention.

Thaci stood trial alongside three other former KLA leaders who fought Serb forces during the 1998-99 war and are broadly regarded as national heroes in Kosovo. All four had pleaded not guilty to every charge against them.

Thaci rose to political prominence after the conflict but stepped down as president to defend himself before the court in The Hague.

Most of the roughly 13,000 people who died in the Kosovo war were ethnic Albanians. The fighting ended after a 78-day campaign of NATO airstrikes against Serbian forces, and about one million ethnic Albanian Kosovars were driven from their homes.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move Belgrade has refused to recognize. Relations between the two sides remain strained despite years of negotiations mediated by the European Union and backed by the United States.