Head of the Government’s Commission for Missing Persons Veljko Odalovic told Belgrade based daily Vecernje Novosti that during the 90’s conflict In Kosovo, there were 53 camps for Serbs and non-Albanians and that it is reasonable to suspect that there were mass graves in their vicinity.
Odalovic told Vecernje Novosti that some of these mass graves have been discovered, while the others are still being searched for.
He said that since the beginning of the year, the fate of seven missing Serbs from the consolidated missing list of Belgrade and Pristina, led by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has been resolved.
“In the coming months, the plan is to locate potential mass graves that came from different sources. We expect that the verification of these sites will shed light on the fate of at least 30 KLA victims if the information proves to be correct,” Odalovic added.
The daily reminds that about 5,800 people disappeared during the conflict in Kosovo, and that the fate of 1,653 is still unknown, of which about 540 are Serbs and other non-Albanians.
The Missing Persons Commission has data on about 30 more Serbs who have disappeared, but these cases are under review.
The families have so far been handed over 378 remains of those killed, who were found in individual and mass graves in Volujke, Malisevo, Gnjilane, Radonjicko Lake, Klecka, Vucitrn, Gjakovica, Brekovac, Suva Reka …
Among the first mass graves found was the Podgradje site, while the last found was called Bunker in Gjakovica.
The bodies of the married couple Petrovic and five members of the Sutakovic family, with three young children, were recently handed over from that tomb.
There are reasonable doubts that there are at least two other mass graves in the vicinity of this site, awaiting verification.
According to the Commission, more than 300 unidentified remains are in the Pristina morgue.
The daily writes that an estimated 40,000 people disappeared during the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, and according to the ICRC data from June, 10,179 people remain missing – 1,652 in Kosovo, 1,998 in Croatia and 6,528 in BiH.
