THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The U.N. war crimes tribunal cleared Kosovo’s former prime minister on Thursday of persecuting Serbs in a 1998-99 separatist war, a move expected to fan tensions simmering over Kosovo’s secession.

Former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj awaits his verdict at the courtroom of the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague April 3, 2008. REUTERS/Fred Ernst /Pool

Ramush Haradinaj, a former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) considered a hero by Kosovo Albanians, was acquitted of torture, murder, rape and deportation after judges found prosecutors had failed to prove a deliberate campaign to kill and expel Serb civilians from Kosovo.

“This is a verdict that strengthens Kosovo. We endured a difficult liberation struggle that cost many lives. Today we are a free and sovereign nation,” Haradinaj said in a statement, adding he would dedicate his life to equal opportunities to all.

Kosovo’s 90 percent Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia in February. The United Nations has run the province since 1999 when NATO drove out Serb forces to halt the ethnic cleansing of Albanians in a two-year war against KLA guerrillas.

The ruling was met with anger in the Kosovo Serb stronghold of north Mitrovica, the focal point of Serb resistance to the new state. Some 120,000 Serbs remain in Kosovo among two million Albanians, most still looking to Belgrade as their government.

Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, a champion of Serbia’s claim to Kosovo, condemned the acquittal.

“Today’s dark decision by the Hague tribunal shows that the purpose of that court is not justice,” he said. “With this ruling the tribunal mocks justice and the innocent victims who suffered at Haradinaj’s hands.”

The decision was sure to inflame nationalist passions in Serbia and may boost the hardline vote in a May election.

Analysts say the decision would also make it harder for any government to justify the delivery to The Hague of remaining ethnic Serb war crimes fugitives -- a key European Union condition for offering Serbia a pact on closer ties.

FIREWORKS, GUNFIRE

Haradinaj was the most senior former KLA guerrilla to be indicted over the war. In the Kosovo capital Pristina the sound of car horns, fireworks and gunfire greeted the verdict, while onlookers cheered and clapped in a packed court public gallery.

Prosecutors had sought prison sentences of 25 years for 39-year-old Haradinaj and his two co-accused.

Haradinaj’s uncle, Lahi Brahimaj, a senior KLA figure, was cleared of most charges but sentenced to six years jail for personally taking part in the cruel treatment of a detainee at a camp, and ordering the mistreatment of a perceived collaborator.

A third accused, Idriz Balaj, the commander of the KLA’s “Black Eagles” special unit, was also cleared of all charges of torture, murder, rape and deportation.

Although the court found that KLA soldiers had committed a large number of crimes alleged in the indictment, it was not convinced that this was part of a wider, deliberate campaign.

“Murders and attacks were not on a scale or of a frequency to conclude that there was an attack on the civilian population,” Judge Alphons Orie told the court.

Serbs had fled, judges concluded, for fear of being caught up in the conflict rather than because they were directly targeted. Kosovo Albanians had also fled, they noted.

Judge Orie said witnesses had been intimidated throughout the trial and some eventually refused to testify, meaning prosecutors had to rely on flimsy testimony. Judges branded other evidence by turn vague, inconclusive or non existent.

The prosecution said it would study the ruling before deciding whether to appeal, in particular the weight the judges gave to witness problems, a spokeswoman said.

Haradinaj, a former nightclub bouncer, was prime minister for only a matter of months before he resigned in 2005 after being indicted by the U.N. tribunal. He said on Thursday he had told the people of Kosovo they could trust the judicial process.

His defense lawyers said the soldier-turned-politician had fought an honorable war, targeting combatants not civilians.

Haradinaj’s wife, Anita, said her husband planned to return to Kosovo on Friday morning: “This is a happy and important day for Kosovo. We will welcome Ramush home to an independent Kosovo,” she told Kosovo public television from The Hague.