President of the Republic of Kosovo Hashim Thaci has been convicted on charges of war crimes by the Hague Tribunal.
The sentence comes as Thaci was scheduled to meet US President Trump Saturday in an effort to bring Serbia and Kosovo to the negotiating table. The countries have been unable to reach any kind of agreement following the 1998-'99 war.
Thaci was charged along with nine commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, responsible for forcibly displacing tens of thousands of ethnic Serb residents and murdering hundreds.
The tribunal charged the group "with a range of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, enforced disappearance of persons, persecution, and torture."