The trial in Kosovo of six ethnic Albanians suspected of war crimes has opened in the town of Gniljane, southeast of the capital Pristina.
U.N. police and NATO-led peacekeepers arrested former fighter with the Kosovo Liberation Army, Selim Krasniqi, and several of his associates last year in Prizren. Five of the accused appeared in court and one is being tried in absentia.
The defendants face charges of murder and other crimes against fellow ethnic Albanians during the conflict in Kosovo in the late 1990s.
The proceedings got underway about a week after gunmen shot and killed a witness in the case.
At the time of his arrest, Mr. Krasniqi was a commander of the Kosovo Protection Corps, a post-war civil defense group that deals with emergencies in Kosovo.
Some information for this story provided by AP.