Key facts
- Kosovo has commenced excavations at newly discovered mass graves linked to the 1998-99 war.
- The sites are located near the villages of Upper and Lower Kalluder in Zubin Potok.
- Authorities suspect the graves may contain the remains of missing intellectuals, including Adem Ademi, who disappeared in April 1999.
- Approximately 1,600 people are still unaccounted for from the conflict.
- Two ethnic Serbs were arrested on suspicion of war crimes related to the mass graves prior to the excavations.
Kosovo has begun excavating recently discovered mass graves believed to contain victims from the 1998-99 war. The sites in Zubin Potok may hold the remains of missing intellectuals, including the father of Erblin Ademi, who disappeared in 1999. Approximately 1,600 people remain missing from the conflict.
Excavations near the villages of Upper and Lower Kalluder started in late July after the discovery of human remains. Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti stated that authorities believe the victims could be missing intellectuals who were allegedly trying to flee Kosovo to avoid Serb troops. Erblin Ademi, whose father Adem Ademi, a surgeon, disappeared with 22 other intellectuals in April 1999, expressed a mix of hope and pain regarding the excavations.
According to the Humanitarian Law Center, Kosovo's missing include about 1,200 ethnic Albanians, 400 ethnic Serbs, and dozens of Roma. Tensions persist between Kosovo and Serbia over the fate of the missing, with both sides accusing each other of hindering progress despite a May 2023 agreement to clarify their status. The European Union has urged both nations to normalize ties.
Kosovo police arrested two ethnic Serbs last month on suspicion of war crimes in connection with the mass graves, days before the excavations began. They remain in custody. Erblin Ademi expressed the universal right to have a grave for remembrance and honor, stating his family's hope for closure.