Human remains of four individuals, believed to be victims of the 1999 Kosovo war, have been discovered during ongoing excavations at the Hajvalia cemetery in Prishtina. Authorities suspect there may be a total of seven sets of remains at this site.
According to Andin Hoti, head of the Government Commission on Missing Persons, excavations have so far been conducted at 24 locations across Kosovo, with human remains discovered at 12 of them. He emphasized that not all excavation sites necessarily contain remains of missing persons and urged families not to worry until DNA results confirm identities.
“This year alone, we’ve excavated or investigated 24 locations across the Republic of Kosovo — not including Serbia’s territory. Out of these, remains have been found in 12 sites. That doesn’t necessarily mean they belong to missing persons; only DNA results from The Hague can confirm that. At this location, we have so far found the remains of four individuals,” Hoti stated.
Meanwhile, Kushtrim Gara from the same commission said the Hajvalia site had been previously excavated shortly after the war, in October 1999, when eight bodies were recovered. Based on archival and international data, the site was revisited, as authorities believe seven more victims could still be buried there.
“This location was treated before, in October 1999, when eight bodies were exhumed. After reviewing archival data, we decided to return, as there may still be seven other bodies, some of which could be among the missing persons. So far, we have found four,” Gara said.
Ditor Haliti, Director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine (IML), confirmed that excavations began yesterday and that the recovered remains have been transferred to IML for forensic and DNA analysis.
“The remains will undergo forensic examination and identification procedures. Once we have a positive DNA match, the families will be notified and, in coordination with them, the remains will be handed over for burial,” Haliti added.
The Government Commission on Missing Persons reiterated that the main challenge in locating missing persons remains the lack of reliable information and Serbia’s continued unwillingness to cooperate in providing data about burial sites.
