“As I promised I will not allow in any circumstances for the president of Kosovo to be before the court, so in order to protect the integrity of the state of Kosovo, people of Kosovo […], today I resign from this position,” Thaci said during a press conference, as quoted by the Albanian news portal Exit.
The Specialist Prosecutor's Office filed the 10-count indictment against Thaci and several other suspects this past April.
In a statement, prosecutors at the EU-backed Kosovo Specialist Chamber said Thaci et al were “responsible for nearly 100 murders”, including Kosovar Albanians, Serbs and Roma people, with political opponents also targeted – the 10 men also faces charges of torture, persecution, and forced disappearance.
Thaci played a prominent role in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which despite being designated a terrorist group by the United Nations in March 1998 was secretly trained and armed by US and UK intelligence services and special forces to assassinate Serbian politicians and policemen in Kosovo, then a Serb province, and harass and intimidate Kosovo Albanians insufficiently enthusiastic about Kosovan independence.