Kosovo's former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj surrendered to The Hague tribunal yesterday to face war crimes charges, a day after stepping down and winning praise for his prompt compliance with the court.

His wife by his side, the ethnic Albanian former rebel leader said farewell to 200 well-wishers chanting his name before boarding a German military plane at Kosovo's Slatina airport to fly to the Netherlands.

"Thanks very much for coming. Bye now," the 36-year-old told a throng of supporters.

Mr Haradinaj is the most senior former Kosovo guerilla to be indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague for alleged atrocities in the 1998-99 separatist war against Serb forces. He is considered a hero by many Kosovo Albanians.

The indictment against Haradinaj is sealed but media reports say it cites the murders of Serbs and Albanian collaborators. Mr Haradinaj, who had been prime minister for only 100 days, declared on Tuesday that he was "entirely innocent." He is the first serving head of government since former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to be indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Milosevic has been on trial in The Hague since 2002.

Kosovo's government has called for Mr Haradinaj's provisional release pending trial and offered legal assistance for his defence.