Human remains were discovered yesterday in a quarry in Kizevik near Raška – a location that has been subjected to investigation for the past five years. It is suspected that the remains could belong to 15 persons from Kosovo who have been listed as missing since the end of the war. Excavations and DNA analysis are pending. The President of the Commission on Missing Persons of the Government of Serbia, Veljko Odalovic, who is currently at the location secured by the Serbian Ministry of the Interior, confirmed the news for the KoSSev portal.
„The remains, along with parts of clothing, were found around noon yesterday. According to the procedure, we stopped the works immediately, until the next court decision. The War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office has completed its part of the work. Now, the acting judge is expected to make a decision by issuing an order on the dynamics, measures, on persons in attendance, and we expect this decision in the next day or two,“ said Odalovic, adding:
„We are currently on the site. We will work every day, including weekends, as long as the weather conditions allow it. I talked about it with the judge,“ he underlined.
The location is secured by the Serbian Interior Ministry. In addition to Odalovic, court representatives, forensics team, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Commission on Missing Persons, EULEX, the Kosovo Working Group on Missing Persons, Kosovo forensics and experts are also present on the site.
„Our work is transparent. We have an extremely competent professional team. We are treating this location the same way we did the one in Rudnica. This site has been subjected to investigation for the past 4-5 years,“ he added.
At the time, Odalovic was unable to provide precise information on how many bodies are located at this site, bearing in mind that the works have been temporarily halted and they will continue as soon as the acting judge specifies the measures and dynamics of further works.
It is suspected that the remains belong to 15 missing persons from Kosovo. Odalovic, however, emphasized that further excavation works and forensic examination are pending.
„For now, the remains of bodies remain unidentified. Their identity will be confirmed when a DNA analysis is completed,“ he said.
As Natasa Kandic from the Humanitarian Law Center announced yesterday, after the bodies of 47 civilians from the villages of Staro Cikatovo and Rezala were found at a nearby location in Rudnica, the bodies of 15 more civilians still remain missing – 10 from Rezala and 5 from Zabelj and Gladno Selo. Kandic also laid the blame for their deaths on Dikovic’s 37th Motorized Brigade.
Excavations at the Kizevik site began in November 2015, at Serbia’s initiative, and at the earlier urging of Kosovo officials.
In June 2014, 47 remains of missing persons from Kosovo were found at another location in Rudnica.
Speaking of locations in Kosovo suspected to contain the remains of Serbs and non-Albanians, Odalovic reveals that he expects progress in the coming period.
„At the last meeting of the working groups, we located some of those sites – the Pristina delegation also informed us to start preparations to examine some locations,“ Odalovic said.
Although refusing to reveal the name of these sites, Odalovic noted that it is now up to the experts and that what is in the interest of investigation is the most important thing – that is, finding the missing persons.
According to the latest data, 1,643 people are still listed as missing during the Kosovo conflict.
One of the points of the agreement recently signed in Washington, as well as the new phase of negotiations in Brussels, launched this summer, includes the issue of resolving the fate of missing persons. As Miroslav Lajcak, the EU special envoy for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, confirmed during his latest official visit to Pristina, the chapter of the future „comprehensive agreement on the normalization of relations“ on the missing has already been concluded.
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