The Serbian authorities’ decision to resume excavations works in the location of Raska in Serbia in search of human remains of Albanians missing since the 1998-99 conflict without the notification of the Kosovo authorities has led to the reaction of the Kosovo Government’s Commission for Missing Persons which called the action a provocation.

The paper reports on page two that there are another two sites near the first location in Rudnica, Raska, which will be excavated soon. According to Kosovo authorities, the bodies of around 400 Albanians are believed to be buried in the three locations; meanwhile Serbian authorities have said that there are 300 bodies. Prenk Gjetaj, chairman of the Kosovo government’s missing persons committee, said excavations at the other two sites would commence only after work is concluded at the first site.

Work is ongoing at the location of the mass grave in Rudnica (Raska) in Serbia. 40 bodies of victims and other bodily remains have been discovered at the location. According to a report by Kosovo’s Forensics Department, the number of victims exhumed has now reached 45. Forensics Department chief Arsim Gerxhaliu said most of the mortal remains were found in the northern part of the mass grave.

Forensic teams working at the mass grave in Rudnica, Raska, have so far managed to recover 25 human remains believed to be from Kosovo Albanians who went missing during the 1998-99 conflict. Forensic expert Arsim Gerxhaliu said the exhumations are proceeding at a high speed and explained that a three-member team from Kosovo has been at the site since 23 April. “We are waiting to exhume as many bodies as possible and then send them for DNA tests all at once”, said Gerxhaliu.