(AFP) - The Special Court for Kosovo in The Hague on Friday issued its first verdict on charges of war crimes, after it sentenced former rebel leader Salih Mustafa to 26 years in prison.

Addressing Mustafa, Judge Mabe Felt-Follia said that the court "imprisoned you for 26 years" after convicting him, especially of the charges of murder and torture.

Mustafa was sentenced after his conviction on charges of torturing detainees in a detention center that was supervised by Albanian separatists during the war of independence with Serbia between 1988 and 1999.

The ruling came at a time when Kosovo is witnessing new ethnic tensions, almost a quarter of a century after the war. During the past weekend, an exchange of fire with the police was recorded, while the European Union's law enforcement forces were also targeted.

Mustafa was convicted of several war crimes, including arbitrary arrest, torture and murder. He was acquitted of the charge of brutal treatment because it included the charge of torture, according to the judges.