Kosova: Victims of Kosovo War Mass Grave Identified
53 out of 54 victims found in a mass grave in Serbia last year [2014] have now been identified. It is speculated that the mass grave contained bodies of Kosovo Albanians, who were massacred by the Serbian military during the 1998-99 Kosovo war, while hundreds of victims are still missing since the war.
Below is an article published by Anadolu Agency:
The last batch of 21 remains out of the total 54 Kosovo Albanians discovered at a mass grave have been identified and returned to their families in Kosovo’s capital Pristina, it was announced Thursday [16 April 2015].
The 21 Kosovo Albanians were among 54 victims, who were killed during the 1998-99 Kosovo War and later discovered at a mass grave in Serbia’s Rudnitsa village near Raska city in April 2014.
Out of these 21 victims, 19 belonged to the same family, who had the surname Morina, Pristina’s Forensic Medicine Center Director Arsim Gerxhaliu said. The victims are expected to be buried after a funeral ceremony Friday.
In total, 53 of the 54 victims had been identified, Gerxhaliu said, adding that the remaining unidentified victim was believed to be a refugee or a guest who happened to be at the wrong place at a wrong time.
On April 2, 2015, 28 out of these 53 victims were handed over to families after identification. Moreover, on Sept. 18, 2014, four out of these 54 victims were returned to their families.
All victims are believed to have been killed by the Serbian military and paramilitary units during the war.
Since the Kosovo War, hundreds of people, mostly Albanians remain missing.
The Kosovo War was an armed conflict between Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Liberation Army between February 28, 1998, and June 11, 1999.
After Serbs attempted ethnic cleansing of Albanians, NATO intervened and ended the war with airstrikes in 1999.
Photo Courtesy of Anadolu Agency
