ROME -- The most senior Kosovo Albanian suspect to be prosecuted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal was cleared today of all counts involving the murder, rape and torture of Serb civilians.

The acquittal of Ramush Haradinaj, a former guerrilla commander and prime minister of the breakaway province, is expected to inflame tensions in the Balkans, where Kosovo's ethnic Albanians have declared independence and Serbs adamantly oppose the move.

Haradinaj and two codefendants were accused of mounting a "criminal enterprise" to abuse, kill and expel Serbs and other minorities in 1998 during the Kosovo Albanians' fight to be rid of Serbian rule. The armed conflict between ethnic Albanians and Serbian forces was ended the following year by a NATO bombing campaign that drove the Serbian military out of the province.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-warcrimes4apr04,0,1475506.story