Bislim Zyrapi

Zyrapi came to Kosovo in late May 1998 to help build a unified KLA command and in November 1998 was appointed chief of the General Staff, a post he held until April 1999 [1].

From 1 to 18 July 2024 he testified for the Prosecution, almost entirely in public session. According to court reporting, he explained the structure of the General Staff (observation battalion, military police, logistics) and said the Staff tried to turn the KLA into a regular army but was often not informed of the zones' actions and could not fully control lower units, partly because of Serbian offensives. He said the accused had never asked for individual arrests, that he knew of no arrests of Serb civilians and that KLA communiqués deliberately exaggerated its strength. In his words, "the responsibility falls to the concrete person who committed the act" [1].