Kurti announces identification of three victims from the “Intellectuals Group

Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, announced that the first three DNA reports have been submitted for samples of human remains exhumed from mass graves in Kalludër and Jabukë, Zubin Potok.

The analysis results have established the identities of three victims and confirmed their connection to the so-called “Intellectuals Group.” This group consisted mainly of residents of Skenderaj and Mitrovica who were abducted and forcibly disappeared by Serbian forces on April 19, 1999.

Kurti said he received the news from the Government Commission on Missing Persons at the start of his visit to the United States of America. According to him, the reports were received from the International Commission on Missing Persons.

The three victims were identified less than two months after the first mass grave was confirmed. The DNA reports have been forwarded to the Institute of Forensic Medicine, while representatives of the institute and the Government Commission on Missing Persons immediately informed the families of the identified victims today.

Reports on the other samples submitted for DNA identification are expected to arrive in the coming days and weeks. Kurti expressed hope that the other families would receive the answers they have awaited for 27 years, emphasizing that although no answer can take away the pain of loss, learning the truth brings an end to the anguish of waiting to discover the fate of their loved ones.

The discovery of the mass grave in Kalludër was confirmed on July 27. During his visit to the site, Kurti called on international actors, particularly the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the European Union, to increase pressure on Serbia to implement the Declaration on Missing Persons, which the parties agreed to in Brussels on May 2, 2023.

He highlighted the need for the immediate opening of archives, including those of the Yugoslav Army’s 37th Motorized Brigade. According to Kurti, this brigade carried out massacres in Kosovo, particularly in Drenica, while Serbia classified its records in 2014 for a period of 30 years.

The acting prime minister said that institutional efforts would continue through field searches, support for the identification process, and direct and careful communication with the families. He pledged that the institutions would stand by them and support their demands for truth, justice and the dignified return of their loved ones.

According to Kurti, determining the fate of every forcibly disappeared person is a state priority for the Republic of Kosovo and a humanitarian obligation that cannot be considered fulfilled as long as even one family continues to await answers.

He said that uncovering the truth about the fate of the missing and securing justice for the victims and their families would remain central to his work and that of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, both in their daily work and during his visit to the United States and meetings held as part of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.

Kurti emphasized that an integral part of this agenda would be the appeal to the United States of America, the European Union and the United Kingdom to exert greater pressure on Serbia. The goal is for Serbia to fulfill its commitments, open its archives and provide the information needed to establish the fate of those forcibly disappeared.