Kosovo authorities said on August 28 that they have found the remains of at least 23 people in three mass graves believed to contain victims of the ethnic conflict in the region during the 1990s.
According to a joint statement from prosecutors, police, and the forensic investigation team, teams from the Institute of Forensic Medicine discovered “remains suspected to belong to at least 23 individuals.” The statement noted that full identification will be carried out after forensic examinations and testing are completed.
During the 1998–1999 war between ethnic Albanian insurgents in Kosovo and Serbian forces, around 13,000 people were killed and 4,000 went missing. Over the decades, authorities have worked to excavate mass graves, recovering thousands of victims, but about 1,600 people remain unaccounted for.
The excavation began two weeks ago in the Zubin Potok area, northern Kosovo, in search of remaining Albanian victims. Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti has said the remains are likely to belong to “23 Albanians who were abducted and executed” in the town of Mitrovica in spring 1999.
Prosecutors said all remains have been sent for DNA testing, but the process could take several months. Police have also arrested three local men in recent days on charges of “war crimes against civilians,” according to the August 28 statement.
