Kosovo rebel leader released

The charges against Mr Ceku were unclear

The Slovenian authorities have released from custody the former commander of Albanian rebels in Kosovo.

Slovenian police said they arrested Agim Ceku at Ljubljana airport on Wednesday afternoon, on the basis of a warrant issued by Serbia.

They released him early on Thursday, on the grounds that the Serbian authorities have no jurisdiction over Kosovo, which has been under United Nations administration since 1999.

His arrest prompted angry protests in the Kosovan capital Pristina, which turned to celebration at the news of his release.

There was no immediate comment from the Slovenian authorities.

But a source at the UN mission in Kosovo (Unmik), which has been governing the mainly Albanian province since Serbia withdrew in 1999 after a Nato bombing campaign, said it seemed that Mr Ceku had been arrested on the basis of an "old" warrant.

Mr Ceku commanded the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) when it was fighting for independence from Serbia and now leads a civil emergency force there, the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC).

A spokeswoman for the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague told the BBC that Mr Ceku had not been indicted by the court.

Another former rebel leader in Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, who is now a politician, was briefly detained in Hungary nearly four months ago on the basis of another warrant issued by Serbia.

The KLA has been blamed for war crimes by the Serbian authorities.

Protection needed

Mr Ceku was detained while travelling between Kosovo and Croatia.

He was released at about 0115 (2315 GMT) after being held in a small room under police guard for 12 hours.

"Slovenian authorities released me, now I'm free and tomorrow I'll continue my trip to Kosovo," he told Slovenian TV.

He said that former KLA troops needed to be protected from Serbian courts by Unmik and other institutions in Kosovo.

The 3,000-strong KPC which Mr Ceku now leads is closely supervised by both Unmik and the Nato-led peacekeeping force, K-For.