The U.S. ambassador to Kosovo has criticized Kosovo's government for hiring a former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) convicted of war crimes to work as an adviser to the prime minister.
U.S. Ambassador Philip Kosnett said in a Twitter post late on February 6 that "convicted war criminals have no place in Kosovo's government."
Sylejman Selimi was sentenced to seven years in prison for war crimes he and his troops committed during the 1998-99 war in Kosovo.
Selimi was released on probation on January 25 ahead of the end of the sentence in September 2020.
He was named as an adviser to Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj just days after his release from prison.
U.S. Ambassador Tells Kosovo 'War Criminals Have No Place' In Government
Ethnic Albanians hold portraits of former Kosovar Liberation Army commander Sylejman Selimi during a protest in Pristina in June 2015.