Pristina - The European Union's law enforcement mission in Kosovo, the Eulex, handed out its first war crimes conviction in the former Serbian province on Wednesday, sentencing an Albanian to 17 years in prison for murder.

Gani Gasi, 59, was sentenced for shooting and killing a man and wounding three members of his family in 1998. The verdict was reached by a panel of two Eulex and one Kosovo judge.

The prosecutor was also a member of Eulex, a mission of 1,900 policemen, judges, prosecutors and customs officials deployed in late 2008 to help Kosovo along its first sovereign steps.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008, nine years after NATO ousted Belgrade's security forces from the province to end repression of the majority Albanians.

The mission is however facing obstruction in the northern section of Kosovo, which is dominated by Serbs - who make up less than 10 per cent of the population overall. (dpa)