Remains of at least 23 people found in suspected Kosovo mass graves

Kosovo authorities have found skeletal remains believed to belong to at least 23 people in three suspected mass graves in the Zubin Potok area in the north of the country. Officials said the remains may be linked to people who disappeared during the 1998–1999 war, but full identification will follow forensic examinations and other procedures.

The remains were sent for DNA testing, a process prosecutors warned could take months. Police have also arrested three local men who are being investigated on suspicion of war crimes against the civilian population.

What authorities found

Teams from Kosovo’s Forensic Medicine Institute recovered skeletal remains during excavations at three suspected mass graves. A joint statement signed by prosecutors, police officials and forensic investigators said the remains were suspected to belong to at least 23 individuals.

Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti said the remains most likely belonged to 23 ethnic Albanians who were violently abducted in Mitrovica and executed in spring 1999. That assessment has not yet been confirmed through the identification process.

How the search unfolded

Officials began excavating in Zubin Potok two weeks before the announcement, searching for ethnic Albanian victims who remain missing from the war. The investigation is part of a decades-long effort to locate people who disappeared during the conflict between independence-seeking ethnic Albanian rebels and Serbian forces.

About 13,000 people were killed and 4,000 went missing during the 1998–1999 war. Around 1,600 people remain unaccounted for, according to the supplied source material.

What happens next

Forensic investigators must complete examinations and relevant procedures before authorities can make full identifications. Prosecutors said DNA testing had begun, while cautioning that the results could take months.

The three arrested local men are being investigated in connection with the case. The authorities’ statement described the suspected offence as war crimes against the civilian population; it did not state that charges or convictions had been secured.