Zubin Potok, 1 August 2026
The Acting Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, accompanied by Atdhe Hetemi, Director of the Institute for Crimes Committed During the War in Kosovo; Agron Limani, Chairperson of the Government Commission on Missing Persons; and Kushtrim Gara, Head of the Commission’s Unit, visited the excavation site at the mass grave in the village of Kalluder, Zubin Potok, where the bodies of Albanians killed by the armed forces of Serbia are suspected to have been concealed.
Thanking the experts of the Institute of Forensic Medicine, forensic specialists and anthropologists, as well as those from the European Union, namely EULEX, for their work, Prime Minister Kurti said that they have the full support of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo and the state in general, so that the anguish and suffering of the families whose loved ones have remained missing since the last war in Kosovo may finally come to an end.
“It is painful, sorrowful and distressing to see that 27 years after the end of the war, the truth which they tried to silence and erase, continues to cry out. And while we were there, additional human bones were uncovered, as the excavation and exhumation are still ongoing,” he said.
Prime Minister Kurti once again called on the international community, the United States of America and the European Union to ensure that the classified documentation in Belgrade is declassified and that the truth is revealed regarding the more than 1,500 persons who are still missing.
Referring to recent developments, the Prime Minister mentioned Serbia’s arrest of witnesses to war crimes committed in Kosovo.
“What is striking is that arrests are also taking place in Serbia, but with the opposite objective. We are all witnessing that Serbia is arresting Serbs who, more than two decades ago, reportedly provided information to UNMIK and international organisations about Serbia’s crimes, and it is doing so under accusations of espionage. Instead of official Belgrade opening the archives of the police, military and paramilitary armed forces that committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Kosovo, it accuses, arrests and, it can now be said, punishes for espionage all those who provide any information whatsoever,” he stressed.
Full statement of Acting Prime Minister Kurti:
Good afternoon, everyone. As Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, I am here together with Atdhe Hetemi, Director of the Institute for Crimes Committed During the War in Kosovo. I am also here with the newly appointed Chairperson of the Government Commission on Missing Persons, Agron Limani, whose father, as well as other relatives, remain missing. We are also joined by other officials from the Institute and by Kushtrim Gara from the Commission.
It is painful, sorrowful and distressing to see that 27 years after the end of the war, the truth, which they tried to silence and erase, continues to cry out. And while we were there, additional human bones were uncovered, as the excavation and exhumation are still ongoing.
I would like to thank the Institute of Forensic Medicine, its forensic experts and anthropologists, as well as those from the European Union, namely EULEX, for the work they are carrying out. They have the full support of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo and of our state in general, so that the anguish and suffering of the families whose loved ones have remained missing since the last war in Kosovo may finally come to an end. For those families, for whom the war has still not ended, they may finally be able to lay to rest, in peace and tranquillity, those who were killed in the spring of 1999 solely because of their Albanian national identity, in dignified graves.
We must wait for the DNA analysis, but it is highly likely that these are the remains of the Albanians known as the “Group of Intellectuals”,23 individuals who, on 19 April, 27 years ago, were detained, abducted and executed by Serbia’s enemy forces. Not content with committing this heinous crime, they also sought to erase the traces of it. That is why, in this place, where you can see that the mass grave cannot even be reached by car, they sought to bury the truth of their role as perpetrators of a genocidal project aimed at the extermination of Albanians.
These excavations will now continue for many more weeks, and perhaps even months, because the remains that have been found are scattered and are located alongside a stream, which is most likely a strong current during the spring season. Therefore, even if the bodies were originally buried in the same location, they may no longer be there.
On the other hand, we know that there is now an ongoing justice process, with two individuals already under arrest. But what is striking is that arrests are also taking place in Serbia, but with the opposite objective. We are all witnessing that Serbia is arresting Serbs who, more than two decades ago, reportedly provided information to UNMIK and international organisations about Serbia’s crimes, and it is doing so under accusations of espionage. Instead of official Belgrade opening the archives of the police, military and paramilitary armed forces that committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Kosovo, it accuses, arrests and, it can now be said, punishes for espionage all those who provide any information whatsoever.
I would particularly highlight the file of the 37th Motorised Brigade of the Yugoslav Army, which carried out massacres in Kosovo, especially in Drenica, and whose archive was classified in 2014 for a period of three decades. According to Belgrade, that file is not to be opened until 2044. We cannot wait another 18 years for the truth to come to light.
Therefore, once again, we call on the international community, the United States of America and the European Union to ensure that these classified documents held in Belgrade are declassified and that the truth is revealed, so that the more than 1,500 persons who are still missing, and the hundreds of families who continue to wait for their loved ones, may finally see an end to their anguish and pain and be able to bury, with dignity, the remains of their family members and loved ones.
Once again, there is extensive classified documentation in Belgrade that can only be opened if there is sufficient international pressure, and one specific example is the file of the 37th Motorised Brigade of the Yugoslav Army.
Thank you all for following this development, which is deeply painful and sorrowful. At the same time, it is also an occasion on which we should commend the work of Kosovo’s institutions, the Kosovo Police, the investigative police, the Institute of Forensic Medicine, and all those who contributed so that hope is not lost and the war may finally come to an end for those for whom it has still not ended, because more than 27 years after the end of the war they still do not have the graves of their loved ones.
