Salih Mëziu’s remains identified, family says: Painful news after more than 27 years of waiting

DNA tests have confirmed that the human remains found in Kalludër and Jabukë in Zubin Potok belong to Salih Mëziu, who went missing during the war in Kosovo.

It was announced on Saturday that DNA testing had confirmed the identities of three victims whose remains were discovered at the two locations. The victims are Idriz Rreci, Adem Beqiri and Salih Mëziu, members of the so-called “Group of Intellectuals” and activists from Skenderaj and Mitrovica. They were abducted by Serbian forces on April 19, 1999, and had been considered missing ever since.

Following the confirmation of Salih Mëziu’s identity, his relatives responded by stressing that the answer regarding his fate had come 27 years after his disappearance.

Tomori, Salih Mëziu’s son, said in a Facebook post that the family had waited more than 27 years to learn what had happened to his father.

“After more than 27 years of waiting, this is a painful but, at the same time, long-awaited answer,” he wrote.

He stressed that the confirmation of his father’s identity had not eased the family’s profound grief, as other members of the Mëziu family have yet to be identified.

According to Tomori, the family hopes that the identities of the other family members will also be confirmed as soon as possible so that, after all these years, they can arrange a funeral ceremony.

Tomori also said that the family is coordinating with the relevant institutions while awaiting information about its other members, which it hopes to receive soon.