Kosovo's President Hashim Thaci, a military leader during Kosovo's war for independence from Serbia in the 1990s, resigned on Thursday in order to face charges for war crimes and crimes against humanity at a special court based in The Hague.
Thaci announced his resignation at a news conference on Thursday in Pristina, Kosovo's capital. He said he was taking the step "to protect the integrity of the presidency of Kosovo."
Thaci was indicted by a Kosovo court based in The Hague which was set up to try alleged crimes of former ethnic Albanian rebel leaders.
A spokesman for the prosecutor in The Hague told The Associated Press that he had no comment on Thaci's announcement.
