Organ Snatchers

New evidence that Albanians in Kosovo abducted and killed Serbs for their organs?

Human Rights Watch has called for an investigation into claims that ethnic Albanians in Kosovo abducted and killed Serbs and may have sold their organs.

The claims, relating to 1999, had been set out in a book by former UN war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte.

Human Rights Watch said it had new evidence to back up the allegations.

Ms Del Ponte said in her book that she had learned that organs were being sold from "credible journalists".

She said the sources had told her that between 100 and 300 mostly Serb civilians were taken from Kosovo into Albania where "doctors extracted the captives' internal organs".

At the time UN and Nato forces were deploying to Kosovo as the war between Serbian forces and separatists was ending.

Human Rights Watch said it had reviewed investigations done at the time and that it believed there were "serious and credible allegations" over the issue.

Human Rights Watch senior researcher Fred Abrahams called on Kosovo and Albania to "show their commitment to justice and the rule of law by conducting proper investigations". (more at BBC)