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LONDON, Oct 11, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has launched an inquiry into war crimes allegedly committed by Kosovo Protection Force Commander Agim Ceku, the Sunday Times reported.
Ceku, 38, former head of the separatist guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army, could be indicted for war crimes committed against ethnic Serbs in Croatia from 1993 to 1995, while Ceku was a top officer in the Croatian army, the Times reported, citing U.N. and Western sources.
ICTY spokesman Paul Risley told AFP on Sunday he had discussed the Ceku case with the Times but called the article's claims "an exaggeration."
"I did not confirm an investigation of Ceku," Risley said, explaining that it is the court's policy not to reveal the names of suspects under investigation.
Risley did acknowledge that as a former soldier in the Croatian army and a member of the KLA, Ceku would be subject to ICTY jurisdiction and investigation of both conflicts.
The most serious charges against Ceku could date back to 1993. At the time, Ceku led the notorious 9th Brigade of the Croatian army, known for its ruthless tactics.
He is suspected of organizing raids in September 1993 on Medak, Citluk and Pocitelj, three villages near Krajina that were almost completely destroyed.
"If we lose him, it will be a disaster," a diplomat close to Bernard Kouchner, the UN civil administrator in Kosovo, told the Times.
"When you get to the second level of the Kosovo Protection Corps, you're down to a bunch of local thugs," the diplomat said.
Ceku was named "Supreme Commander" of the Kosovo Protection Force, set up last month to police the province, on September 20.
"There's speculation as to whether he's going to stick around or not," said David Slinn, the senior British diplomat in Kosovo.