Kosovo lays to rest victims of long-buried war crimes

Remains of ethnic Albanian, hidden for 26 years after a brutal Serbian massacre, are finally buried 

PRISHTINA, Kosovo (MNTV) — Kosovo held a solemn ceremony to bury the remains of 11 ethnic Albanian civilians, whose lives were cut short during the brutal 1999 massacre carried out by Serbian forces in Kralan village, in the western municipality of Gjakova.

The remains were discovered earlier this year, in March, in the village of Bishtazhin — located around 26 kilometres from the massacre site. Forensic experts confirmed the bodies had been secretly moved and hidden by Serbian troops in an apparent effort to cover up the war crimes committed during the Kosovo conflict.

Seven victims were buried at the Klina municipal cemetery, while four others were laid to rest in nearby villages, bringing a measure of closure to families who had waited more than two decades for answers.

On 4 April 1999, Serbian army and police units executed 86 ethnic Albanians from Klina municipality in Kralan village. Among the victims were four children aged just 14. 

Some remains had previously been recovered in Serbia during earlier investigations, but many families have remained in limbo, awaiting the identification and return of their loved ones.

The Kralan massacre was one of many atrocities during the Kosovo war, a conflict that erupted after Kosovo Albanians, who made up over 90% of the territory’s population, sought independence from Serbia. In response, Serbian forces launched a violent campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Albanian majority.

Between 1998 and 1999, Serbian forces killed more than 12,000 Albanian civilians, raped around 20,000 women, girls, and men, destroyed or burned over 120,000 homes, and forcibly deported more than 800,000 people to neighbouring Albania and North Macedonia.

The war ended after a 78-day NATO bombing campaign forced Serbian forces to withdraw from Kosovo. In 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia — a move recognised by over 100 countries but still rejected by Belgrade and several others, including Russia and China.

Today, some 1,600 people remain missing from the two-year conflict, including about 1,200 Albanians believed to have been killed by Serbian forces and approximately 400 Serbs and members of other minority communities believed to have been killed by ethnic Albanian guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

Efforts to locate and identify the missing continue under international supervision, but the process remains slow, hampered by political tensions between Kosovo and Serbia and the unwillingness of some parties to fully cooperate.

For the families of the victims buried this weekend, the return of their loved ones’ remains offers a measure of solace, even as the broader quest for justice and reconciliation continues.