Kosovo: UN war crimes prosecutor confirms probes into three KLA suspects

The chief prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia today confirmed that her office had opened three investigations dealing with suspects from the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), and that she hoped to issue the first indictment in those cases this year.

Carla Del Ponte, who was in Kosovo today for a meeting with the head of the UN Interim Administration in the province (UNMIK), declined to name those under investigation, saying she preferred to wait until the indictments were confirmed by the Tribunal's judges and that she had not made up her mind if those charges were to be sealed.

Ms. Del Ponte's comments to the press came after her meeting with UNMIK chief Michael Steiner, who said that the UN Mission and the Tribunal were both working for the same goal of establishing the rule of law.

"As part of the family of the UN, we would not have any problems whatsoever between us because we are here of course to follow whatever is decided in The Hague," Mr. Steiner said, referring to the Tribunal's headquarters.