Balkans: June 5, 2002

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An update from the Slobodan Milosevic trial in the Hague. A former KLA commander (Chukri Buja) testified that the Yugoslav Army (Serb Army) killed only ten KLA guerrillas when the Yugoslav Army attacked the Kosovo town of Racak on January 15, 1999. Eight of the KLA fighters died trying to flee a base in the town and two died in a firefight with the Serbs. Buja said he had 47 fighters in and around Racak before the Serbs attacked. Bujas testimony conflicts with Serb claims that the 25 bodies pulled from a Racak ditch were all KLA fighters, and not massacred civilians. UN sources estimate 40 to 45 people were killed in Racak. The Racak massacre is a major allegation against Milosevic.