The excavations being carried out in Zubin-Potok are linked to a complex and sensitive investigation into finding people who went missing during the war, the Special Prosecution said, urging the media not to publish unconfirmed information.

Arbnora Luta, a spokesperson for the institution, told the media that the case remains under investigation. According to her, the actions taken so far stem from years of investigative work by the Kosovo Police and the Special Prosecution.

Luta explained that, as part of the searches for missing persons, more than 10 exhumation orders have been issued to date. She stressed that the results cannot be made public before the entire investigative process has been completed.

According to the spokesperson, it is still too early at this stage to provide figures on the number of mortal remains believed to have been found at the location. She called for understanding and urged the avoidance of reports that have not been verified by the competent institutions, explaining that all necessary verifications and analyses must first be completed.

Luta added that the public and the media will be informed as soon as the legal conditions are met for publishing data from the investigative process. Until then, the Special Prosecution is asking that the integrity of the investigation be preserved, that the final result be awaited, and that the dignity of the victims and their family members be respected.

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Excavations in the village of Kalludër e Vogël in Zubin Potok have unearthed a mass grave containing bones and clothing believed to belong to 23 missing intellectuals from Mitrovica during the conflict. On Tuesday, the site was visited by Minister of Internal Affairs Xhelal Sveçla, head of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency Petrit Ajeti, and Minister of Local Government Elbert Krasniqi.

Speaking to the media after the inspection, Sveçla stressed that the discovery of this burial site came as a result of tireless work by security bodies and cooperation with residents. He added that law enforcement is pursuing several directions simultaneously, both on the excavation front and in the investigative one, with the aim of identifying and holding all perpetrators accountable.

The Minister of Internal Affairs stated that the government remains determined to continue searches until the fate of every forcibly disappeared citizen is clarified and justice is ensured for all victims. He concluded his statement with a pledge: “We will not stop until the last body of the missing person is found.”

Currently, competent teams are carrying out further excavations in the area, while authorities have confirmed that detailed investigations are underway to determine the identities of the deceased and to fully document the circumstances of this event.

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On Tuesday, law enforcement forces in Kosovo began exhumation work in a village in the northern part of the country, where a mass grave with human remains linked to the 1998-1999 war is suspected to exist.

Arbnora Luta, spokesperson for the Special Prosecution of Kosovo, confirmed that the operation was undertaken at the request of this institution and with permission issued by the Basic Court in Pristina.

According to subsequent information published by the Prosecution, the two individuals arrested on Tuesday in the Mitrovica area, citizens with the initials M.J. and M.B., are suspected of being involved in this war crimes case.

“The court decision is being implemented for the extraction, examination, and documentation of mortal remains at a specific location in the territory of Zubin Potok Municipality,” she said, adding that it is still early to speak about other details due to the active phase of the excavations.

In its statement, the Prosecution emphasized that the entire process is carried out in full respect of the court order and professional and international standards for victim identification and evidence collection, with the presence of responsible bodies and field specialists.

In a recent period, institutions have conducted excavations several times at various locations, uncovering remains believed to belong to missing persons from the last war in Kosovo.

Statistics show that around 13,000 people lost their lives during the 1998-1999 conflict, while more than 1,500 others are still considered missing. The majority of the victims were defenseless Albanians.

In 2023, Kosovo and Serbia reached an agreement on a Joint Declaration on Missing Persons, as part of EU-mediated normalization talks. It provided for unrestricted access to information, including classified data, the provision of essential documents to clarify the fate of the missing, and coordination through an EU-led commission.

Nevertheless, all these commitments remain on paper, as none of the agreed points have seen implementation in practice.

Earlier this year, the inaugural meeting of the Joint Commission for Missing Persons from the Kosovo war was organized, but it ended without any concrete progress.

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