Kosovo hands over the remains of three bodies killed during the war to Serbia

2024-06-18 14:04:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Kosovo hands over the remains of three bodies killed during the war to Serbia

The border point in Merdare between Kosovo and Serbia, photo AFP

The remains of three bodies of Serbian citizens killed in the last war in Kosovo were handed over to the Serbian authorities on Tuesday at the border point in Merdara.

As reported, it is about the bodies of Svetislav Xhapo, Perka Mladenovic and Momir Millenkovic.

Until today, their bodies have been kept together with 280 other unidentified remains in the Pristina cemetery.

Ditor Haliti, director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine, told Radio Free Europe that the remains of the bodies that were handed over today have been kept at the Institute since the end of the war, but there have been problems with their identification.

"They were at the Institute because they could not be identified during this time because the family members did not provide blood samples to be identified. Last year, blood samples of family members were given and additional DNA samples were sent, which gave us the results of those who have been identified", he said.

The Serbian authorities have also announced the acceptance of these troops. According to the Government in Belgrade, they were killed in Ferizaj, Prizren and Pristina in 1999.

Lilana Millenkovic, the wife of Momir Millenkovic, said in Merdara that he was kidnapped on August 29, 1999, in Prizren, where he had gone to visit his home. Since then, he said he has not heard anything about him.

"Thank God we found him, at least we know where the grave is, where to light the candle. Until now, everything has been unclear," she said.

Difficulties with the identification of mortal remains

The director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Haliti, said that there are still many unidentified mortal remains in this Institute.

"We have 280 bodies (bone remains) that do not match the blood samples, they belong to both communities, Serbs and Albanians. "We are working on the exhumations that were done last year, but also the review of the mortal remains," he said.

Haliti has also announced that the institutions of Kosovo, the Kosovo Police, the EULEX mission and the Government Commission for the Missing, are continuing the search for mortal remains, but did not provide other details.

During the 1998/99 war in Kosovo, around 13,000 people were killed, 10,794 Albanians, 2,119 Serbs, while the rest belonged to other ethnic groups.

Of the approximately 6,000 people forcibly disappeared at that time, more than 1,600 people remain missing today. Many of the missing were found over the years in mass graves in Serbia.

According to the Kosovo Governmental Commission for Missing Persons, during the year 2023, 15 locations within the territory of Kosovo were excavated, which are related to the process of clarifying the fate of missing persons, as well as at a location in Serbia.

"Exhumed are the mortal remains of twenty individuals - victims of the war, although the number of exhumed persons and their identity will be determined after all forensic examinations and identification through DNA analysis are completed," the Commission's report states. government of Kosovo. /REL