Gara: Lack of information from Serbia hampers search for missing persons

Human remains believed by anthropologists at the Institute of Forensic Medicine to belong to at least one person have been discovered and exhumed in the village of Brod in the Municipality of Shtërpcë. The remains have been sent to the institute for examination and DNA sampling. The DNA samples will be compared with reference samples from family members for possible identification.

Kushtrim Gara, from the Government Commission on Missing Persons, said the search in Brod was undertaken following information provided by relatives of missing persons and by citizens.

According to Gara, excavations began on November 6, but no human remains were found that day because of the terrain and changes to the infrastructure. Teams returned to the site and, after further work, found and exhumed the remains.

Gara said around 20 to 21 sites have been investigated during 2026. He cited discoveries in Jabuk and Kalludër in Zubin Potok as among the most significant.

He said searches will also continue in a village in the Municipality of Pejë, at cemeteries in northern Mitrovicë, in Miradinë in Fushë-Kosovë, and at the city cemetery in Prishtinë’s Arbëria neighborhood.

Gara identified the lack of information from the archives of Serbian institutions, including those of the former Yugoslav army and the Serbian police, as the main obstacle to finding missing persons. He said the process is also hampered by access to suspected mass grave sites within Serbia, where searches have yet to be completed.