Witnesses testifying against the former Yugoslav President, Slobodan Milosevic, are giving evidence behind closed doors for the first time in the marathon war crimes trial.

The Hague war crimes tribunal went into closed session on Friday, although no information was given on the nature of the testimonies to be given in secret.

	Milosevic charges Genocide Crimes against humanity Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions Violations of the laws or customs of war Click here for a full list of charges

A spokesman for Mr Milosevic's Socialist Party said he believed the witnesses in question were two ethnic Albanian women who were raped in Kosovo.

Loudspeakers and video screens, used to relay court proceedings to spectators, were switched off.

The curtains behind the bullet-proof screen separating the courtroom from the public gallery were drawn shut and transcripts will not be made available.

Testimony offers

The development came a day after former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov said he was willing to give evidence as a defence witness for Mr Milosevic.

He was prime minister during the Nato bombing campaign against Serbia and opposed the air strikes.

To my mind the trial of Milosevic is becoming one-sided

Former Russian PM Yevgeny Primakov

"I can testify that Milosevic behaved in a most positive manner and enabled a peaceful outcome.

"I am thinking of Bosnia, where the bloodletting stopped thanks to Milosevic and his incontestably positive role in Kosovo," he was reported as saying on a Russian television broadcast.

"To my mind the trial of Milosevic is becoming one-sided," he said.

And on Friday, former Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, who was in power during the 1992-1995 war, said he would testify against Mr Milosevic if he was invited to do so and his health permitted.

"It will be proven that Milosevic ordered, approved or at least knew about all the evil that came to Bosnia from Belgrade," he said in an interview with a weekly newspaper based in Sarajevo.