The investigation into the disappearance and suspected killing of a group of intellectuals from Mitrovica has entered a new phase following the discovery of suspected mass graves and human remains in the Zubin Potok area.
During a press conference, Kosovo Police Director General Gazmend Hoxha and Acting Interior Minister Xhelal Sveçla provided new details about the investigation and the history of searches conducted in the area.
A Kosovo Police official from the War Crimes Directorate said investigators took over the case file from EULEX in 2018, inheriting documentation covering years of efforts to locate possible burial sites.
According to the official, the records show that authorities had repeatedly searched the Zubin Potok area since the end of the Kosovo War.
“From the documentation we inherited, we can say with full responsibility that there was considerable and sustained activity aimed at locating graves in that area,” the official said.
Between 1999 and 2018, a total of 17 excavations were carried out, primarily in villages across the area and particularly in the western part of Zubin Potok.
The history of those searches is now gaining renewed significance following the recent discoveries in the Kalludër area, where authorities have identified suspected mass-grave locations and recovered human remains believed to belong to people who disappeared during the Kosovo War.
The latest investigation is examining whether the newly discovered remains can be connected to missing persons and whether evidence recovered from the area could help establish what happened to them.
Authorities have stressed that forensic examinations, including DNA analysis and the examination of seized weapons and other material evidence, will be crucial before definitive conclusions can be reached.
The renewed investigation could therefore provide answers to one of the unresolved cases surrounding those who disappeared during the war and potentially shed further light on the fate of the victims.
