EULEX to Exhume Suspected Mass Grave in Mitrovica

EULEX is waiting for a green light from a court in order to start exhuming a suspected mass grave in northern Kosovo, after local residents found two bodies during construction works. Mortal remains of at least two people were discovered during construction works at a private property in the southern part of Mitrovica, near former Yugoslav Army barracks. EU rule of law mission to Kosovo, EULEX, experts from the Department of Forensic Medicine, together with investigators of the War Crimes Investigation Unit, visited the site in Mitrovica on Saturday. Local inhabitants and associations of the families of missing persons, suspect that the two bodies found wrapped up in a blanket at the site, are victims of the Kosovo war. Blerim Krasniqi, EULEX spokesperson, told Balkan Insight on Monday that EULEX is waiting for the detailed analysis. “Bone samples were taken in order to determine if they are of forensic interest, meaning if they belong to people who died between 1 January 1998 – 31 December 2000, as a consequence of the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo,” confirmed Krasniqi. The period is determined by the Kosovo Law on Missing Persons, based on which the Department of Forensics Medicine operates. Six months ago, close to the same area in the vicinity of the former Yugoslav Army barracks, 55 bodies were recovered. But the forensic teams found that the remains are from World War II, and not the 1999 Kosovo-Serbia war. Some 1,400 victims of the Kosovo war are still missing. The associations of families of missing persons and Pristina authorities have recently called upon Belgrade to reveal what happened to their loved ones who went missing during the 1999 war, who are presumed to have been killed by the Serbian security forces. The same call has been made to the international community to urge Serbia to reveal the information. Monday 4 June 2012 http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/eulex-to-exhume-suspected-mass-grave-in-mitrovica