(ANSA) - BELGRADO, DEC 13 - A new demonstration in support of former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders who are on trial in The Hague for war crimes took place in Skopje today. On Skenderbeg Square in the Macedonian capital--regional media report--demonstrators from the Albanian minority in North Macedonia, the majority population of Kosovo, and many from neighboring Albania as well, all gathered to clamor for the release of Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veselj, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi, who are allegedly being unjustly accused and tried. With flags of Albania and the Uck, the demonstrators -- who responded to an initiative of the Association of Uck Veterans and Ex-Combatants -- chanted slogans in favor of the four defendants and against the Hague judges. Also present among others was Ali Ahmeti, leader of the opposition-aligned Democratic Union for Integration (Dui), among the largest parties of the Albanian minority in North Macedonia. Ahmeti was one of the founders of the Dui. Today's was the fourth rally in support of former Uck leaders, following those in Pristina last August, Tirana and The Hague in September, and Strasbourg in November. Hashim Thaci, former president of Kosovo, Kadri Veselj, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi-all former Uck fighters and leaders-were arrested in November 2020, and the trial against them began on April 3, 2023. The charge for them is war crimes and crimes against humanity, including killing, torture, persecution, abduction, inhumane behavior, mistreatment and other serious crimes. Sentencing by the Hague Special Tribunal is expected in the coming months. The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) is the Albanian independence guerrilla that fought against the Serbian forces in the 1998-1999 armed conflict, the toll of which was about 13,000 dead, mostly ethnic Albanian Kosovars, and tens of thousands of refugees. The Uck is still considered a terrorist organization by Belgrade. (ANSA).