Serbian authorities said on Friday (May 4th) they have arrested at least eight Albanians in a sweep of suspects accused of war crimes during clashes in Serbia in 2001, apparently in retaliation for the acquittals of Fatmir Limaj, an ally of Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, and three other former Kosovo Liberation Army members charged with committing war crimes against Serbs.

The arrests, in the southern Serbia municipality of Bujanovac, include five people accused of war crimes against civilians, two for resisting police and one for possession of an illegal weapon, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said. They come two days before Serbia conducts nationwide elections.

The only Albanian member of the Serbian Parliament, Riza Halimi from Preseva Valley, said the arrests are an attempt to deteriorate a peaceful electoral process. He said that seven out of eight arrested are political activists with his Party for Democratic Action, and one is a candidate in local elections.