Since the liberation of Kosovo in the year 2008, its neighbor Serbia has been on the lookout for suspected war crimes offenders. Today, Agim Ceku, the ex-prime minister of Kosovo was arrested in Bulgaria on charges of war crimes. The arrest came in the wake of an Interpol warrant issued against Ceku on behest of Serbia.

However, a Serbian prosecutor, Kamen Mihov has stated that, on Friday, courts will decide Mr. Ceku’s fate. This means that, the courts will either extend his detention by 40 days, thereby giving time to Serbian authorities to extradite him or the courts can even release him.

Serbia has accused Agim Ceku of committing war crimes in the Kosovo-Serbian war of 1998-1999. Ceku was the rebel commander of the Kosovo forces fighting the Serbian forces and undermining Serbian rule. Mr. Ceku has been accused of over 669 illegal deaths of Serbian nationals and 18 individuals of other races in 1999. He has specifically been blamed for his “command responsibilities” during the conflict. Agim Ceku has been continously denying these charges and has been stressing on his innocence.

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 1999 and has been widely supported by Russia and the international community. However, till this date, Serbia still refuses to acknowledge Kosovo as a sovereign state.

This isn’t the first time that Agim Ceku has been arrested on the charges of war crimes. In October 1993, he was arrested at the Ljubljana Airport and then again at the Budapest Airport in February 2004. however, he was released on both the occasions. In May this year, he was again deported from Colombia, due to the Interpol warrant for the same crimes.

Many experts believe that, as Mr. Ceku is one of the most prominent figures in Kosovo’s struggle for independence, his arrest might spark an angry and violent response in Kosovo. This could make the work of NATO peacekeeping forces a lot more difficult in a place where the situation is still volatile after 11 years of independence.

Via New York Times.