Prime minister resigns over war crimes charges

KOSOVO’S ethnic Albanian prime minister resigned yesterday after being charged with war crimes by the United Nations tribunal.

Rumours that Ramush Haradinaj was about to be charged by Hague chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte had circulated since before he became prime minister last December, raising fears of violence if NATO peacekeepers were forced to arrest him.

“Yes, the prime minister has been informed he has an indictment,” said a senior official in the Kosovo government. “We have to face it. “He has informed the president (Ibrahim Rugova). He will resign today ... and will fly to the Hague tomorrow.”