Former Serb leader cleared of war crimes

Former Serb President Milan Milutinovic was today cleared of ordering a deadly campaign of terror by Serb forces against Kosovo Albanians in 1999.

The UN War Crimes tribunal in the Hague convicted five other senior Serbs and gave them prison sentences of between 15 and 22 years.

Milutinovic’s acquittal was a blow to prosecutors who three years ago failed to convict former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic of similar crimes when he died of a heart attack before his trial ended.