New remains of suspected war victims found

Mortal remains, suspected to belong to victims of the recent war in Kosovo, were found during several days of excavations carried out in Pržin, Rahovec. They were immediately sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for analysis. Searches in this area have resumed, after those of December 2025, based on the suspicion that the remains of several other people who disappeared during the war may be found there.

For several days now, Halit Krendali has been following the excavations in Përzhin, Rahovec, with great attention, in the hope that the remains of his uncle, who has been missing since the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo, will be found at this location.

In this area, on Wednesday, mortal remains were found, which may belong to at least one missing person from the war.

Krendali has expressed his belief that the remains of his family member may also be there.

"My uncle, Ramadan Krandali, is buried here. We, all the family members of these buried, are always waiting for that information to come out. According to the information we heard on the video, from the police or the police commander at the time, it said that 40 (people) were buried in Rahovec and 10 in Prizren. They are all buried here, in that part, with their first and last names. Thanks to the government Commission for Missing Persons, some remains have been found. I hope we will find our family members," he emphasized. 

Crandall has described the wait for missing loved ones to be found as difficult for families. 

"My uncle left behind three daughters and three sons. His grave has remained dry, near his wife's grave. Whenever they come to visit or for Eid, the family and children always return to their father's grave, as if he were there," he said.

The mortal remains found during excavations in Pržin, Rahovec Municipality, were immediately sent for analysis to the Institute of Forensic Medicine.

Forensic anthropologist Valon Hyseni said that work is now expected to begin on identifying the bone remains through autopsy and DNA analysis.

"So far we have found the remains of at least three bodies, where two bodies were found in December, while the remains of at least one body were found this week. Some bone remains have also been found, where the minimum number of individuals in those bone remains is unknown, without the analysis of the Institute of Forensic Medicine," he stressed.

Kushtrim Gara, a member of the Government Commission for Missing Persons, announced that excavations in the area have resumed, based on suspicions that the remains of eight individuals who disappeared during the war may be found there. He based his suspicions on information in his possession that, during the summer of 1998, Serbian forces buried the bodies of 47 victims of the Rahovec Massacre there.

"In this location, in the summer of 1998, Serbian forces buried, I say 'buried' because of the family members, but they buried, in an attempt to hide the traces of the crime, the bodies of 47 victims. Three of whom were taken by the family members themselves. It is realistic that the bodies of 44 victims of the war, respectively of the summer massacre of 1998, were buried in this area. Then, in reviewing this data, despite the excavations and exhumations that have occurred continuously during these 27 years, starting from October 99, the forensic teams from the Hague Tribunal, followed by excavations by UNMIK, the Kosovo Police, we have concluded that the mortal remains or bodies of at least eight more victims may be in this location," Gara emphasized.

Excavations in Pržin began on March 4, and are expected to continue next week.

Florim Elshani, head of the sector for the Investigation of Missing Persons during the War that operates within the Directorate for the Investigation of War Crimes in the Kosovo Police, announced that the excavations are being conducted in coordination with the Institute of Forensic Medicine and based on a court order.

"After starting on the 4th, 5th, 9th, 10th, we are still excavating at this location today and with the very fact that we have bone finds of human origin, which are of forensic interest. We cannot say for days, but certainly there will be work at this location next week as well, since the location is divided into several zones or sectors and due to the sensitivity of the terrain, the work must be carried out with increased care, because we are talking about mortal remains, where every part of the land must be carefully checked", emphasized Elshani.

At this location, during excavations last December, skeletal remains of two people suspected of being missing from the 1998-1999 war were found. The results of the analyses to identify them have not yet been made public.

The Rahovec massacre took place in the summer of 1998, when Serbian forces killed and massacred over 100 civilians. In an attempt to hide the traces of the crime, the bodies of more than 40 victims were buried in the area.

Finally, the mortal remains of three war victims – Bali (Pajazit) Gashi, Fadil (Shaban) Elezaj and Masar (Ymer) Dushi, who were on the list of missing persons and identified through scientific DNA analysis, were reburied on February 27 in Klina. Their mortal remains had been exhumed from a mass grave in Bishtazhin.

During 2025, excavations were conducted at 33 locations, and the remains of 22 individuals were found. 

From the war in Kosovo, 1,577 people, mainly Albanians, are still considered missing.