Serbia’s government and the Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista have strongly criticized the arrest of two men suspected of committing war crimes during the 1998–1999 Kosovo war, after Kosovo authorities announced new investigations into crimes against civilians.
Kosovo’s Special Prosecution Office said two suspects, identified by the initials M.J. and M.B., had been arrested and placed in 48-hour detention on suspicion of committing war crimes against the civilian population in the Mitrovica region during the 1999 conflict.
According to prosecutors, the investigation is ongoing, and additional details cannot yet be disclosed in order to preserve the integrity of the criminal proceedings.
Later on Monday, the Special Prosecution Office also confirmed that excavation work was underway at a site in the municipality of Zubin Potok, where investigators suspect human remains belonging to people who disappeared during the Kosovo war may be buried.
Srpska Lista, the main political party representing Kosovo Serbs and backed by the Serbian government, condemned the arrests, claiming that war crimes allegations have become “a tool for intimidating our people rather than an effort to deliver justice.”
The party described the detentions as part of what it called continued pressure by Kosovo authorities under Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti against the Serb community.
Serbia’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija also reacted, describing the arrests in Zubin Potok as “terrorism, revenge, and intimidation” directed at the Serbian community.
The 1998–1999 Kosovo war claimed the lives of more than 13,000 civilians, while thousands more were reported missing.
Efforts to locate approximately 1,600 missing persons—most of them Kosovo Albanians—are still ongoing.
In recent months, Kosovo authorities have intensified investigations into wartime crimes, carrying out several arrests and filing a number of indictments against individuals suspected of war crimes.
War crimes investigations in Kosovo were initially conducted by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) between 2000 and 2008. Responsibility was then transferred to the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), before Kosovo’s domestic judicial institutions assumed primary responsibility for such cases in 2018.
