Army sued over killing of a gunman

The army is being sued in a British court after the killing of a "freedom fighter".

The Parachute Regiment has been forced to defend itself in the High Court after a shoot-out which ended in the death of a Kosovan Liberation Army soldier and injuries and "trauma" to his family.

Two of the injured were airlifted to Britain for life-saving NHS surgery, granted the right to settle here and now have been given legal aid to bring this landmark action for massive compensation. If the judge backs the Kosovans' claim, the Government fears it could be exposed to a wave of applications from other alleged victims which could total millions of pounds.

A member of one of the legal teams involved said: "It's a really bizarre situation. The man gets shot, we bring him over and patch up him up with some of the best surgical treatment in the world.

He is supported and given the money to sue those who shot him."

General Sir Mike Jackson, then commander of the KFOR stabilisation force and now Britain's chief of the general staff, has had to appear in court as a witness. General Jackson had offered his condolences to KLA commander Agem Ceku over the incident at the time.

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