For the second consecutive day, specialized teams are conducting excavations in the Kalludër area, where the remains of 23 persons missing from the recent conflict in Kosovo are suspected to be buried.
Të lidhura
None found
On Tuesday, the operation site was inspected by acting Interior Minister Xhelal Sveçla. He stressed that the discovery of this mass grave is the result of tireless work by security institutions and the assistance received from citizens.
“Thanks to the ongoing commitment of security authorities and cooperation with the population, we have managed to identify a mass grave containing the remains of our fellow citizens. The activity continues on both the excavation and investigative fronts to identify the victims and bring the perpetrators to justice. We will not stop searching until we find the last missing person’s body,” Sveçla said.
As part of the investigation, the Special Prosecution has ordered 48-hour detention for two individuals identified with the initials M.J. and M.B., who are suspected of involvement in this case.
The Special Prosecution announced that the exhumation of mortal remains is being carried out under a court order and in full compliance with professional and international standards for handling material evidence and identifying victims.
They explained that the activity is being conducted with the participation of competent institutions and field specialists, strictly respecting the legal framework and technical criteria.
This action is part of two separate criminal investigative files managed by the Special Prosecution. So far, authorities have not released further information regarding the identity of the remains or the specific circumstances of the cases under review.
The prosecution has warned that additional details will be made public only to the extent that they do not compromise the progress of the criminal process, the identification procedure, and the rights of the families of the deceased.
In concluding the communication, the full commitment of institutions to thoroughly clarify the event and ensure justice for the victims’ families was reiterated.
Former Kosovo Liberation Army commander Naim Miftari expressed his conviction that the grave may belong to Albanians who were trying to flee toward Montenegro. He recalled that the brother of Halit Berani was part of that group.
“I think this grave contains the bodies of Albanians who were heading to Montenegro. The group consisted of 25 people, but only two managed to survive. That was the time when NATO bombings were underway. However, from what I learned after the war, the Missing Persons Office (ZKZ) also conducted investigations into this case. If this is their resting place, then there should be 22 or 23 bodies there. I cannot be entirely sure, because we had the members of this group registered by name and surname. Among them, the brother of Halit Berani was killed.
Strangely, only two people survived: a civilian from Kostërc, who was leading the group, and Faruk Spahiu, the post-war LDK chairman for Mitrovica. I personally, as the third member of the ZKZ, officially questioned him after the war, but he was not accurate in his statement. Later, someone forced him to claim that he was being pressured solely because of his LDK affiliation, which was not true. That group of 23-24 people had fled toward Montenegro. They had paid two persons to guide them, but they fell into an ambush organized by Serb-Montenegrin reservists, where there were also Bosniaks in Serbian uniforms. These people were executed by regular forces and Serbian reservists,” Miftari told “Bota sot”.
He shared more about the circumstances of the excavations, adding that no one wants to confront the truth. Miftari recalled that at the start of the airstrikes, the KLA had warned intellectuals, doctors, professors, and activists in Mitrovica and Vushtrri to withdraw to areas controlled by the KLA and join it, because Serbia had a plan to eliminate all educated and influential Albanians.
Most of those who heeded the advice and became part of the KLA are still alive today. Among them was Dr. Bajram Rexhepi, who joined the 142nd Brigade and, as a doctor, saved hundreds of civilian and military lives. He later served as mayor of Mitrovica and prime minister of Kosovo.
“No one wants the truth. Thus, a doctor with the surname Berisha had been warned by members of the Mitrovica military police that he had to leave the city, as he was on the Serbian police murder target list. He did not heed our call for evacuation; perhaps he was politically influenced, being an LDK sympathizer, as was the majority of Kosovo’s population at that time. He was killed one or two days later in Mitrovica by Serbian police, led by an officer named Ratko; the surname escapes me. However, we have it documented, with names and surnames, together with dozens of other police officers who committed murders of Albanian civilians in Mitrovica and Vushtrri during the war,” stressed the former commander.
Finally, he mentioned the names of those who contributed to saving many intellectuals, concluding that there has never been political will to prosecute, clarify, and punish the entirety of the crimes.
“I, Naim Miftari, a former fighter and superior of the KLA, by command order, was present throughout the bombing period in Mitrovica and its surroundings. I was an active part of the resistance and the fight even within the city of Mitrovica itself. For every word, every piece of data, even classified information, I bear full moral and legal responsibility before our state and before God.
I forgot to mention that in the rescue of a large number of intellectuals in Mitrovica and Vushtrri, special contributions were made by commanders Enver Oruqi, Frahman Rama, Ferki Aliu, Mensur Kosumi, Gani Imeri, and Besim Zymberi. To this day, there has never been political will, neither from the international community nor from our politicians and government officials, to pursue, shed light on, and punish all crimes, both those committed during the war and some afterward. There was ample evidence to prosecute them,” Miftari concluded.
