A person has been arrested for war crimes and has been sent to detention for 48 hours, the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office announced. The suspect, RK, was arrested as part of ongoing investigations into war crimes in Zubin Potok. He is suspected of the criminal offense: “War crimes against the civilian population.”

The remains of at least 23 people have been found in three mass graves in this municipality in northern Kosovo. In connection with the discovery of the mass graves, authorities have previously announced the arrest of three other people, who are in custody.

The Special Prosecution Office said that within the legal deadline it will also request the imposition of a detention measure for RK. In Kalludër i Vogël and Jabukë in Zubin Potok, excavations began in July and on August 21, the authorities announced the completion of the process of excavations and exhumations of mortal remains in three locations.

Ten skeletal remains, meanwhile, have already been sent to The Hague for identification through DNA.

Authorities in Kosovo suspect that the mortal remains found in the mass graves in Kalludër i Vogël and in Jabukë in Zubin Potok may belong to the "group of intellectuals from Mitrovica".

The group of 23 people has been missing since April 19, 1999. Among them were doctors, professors, lawyers and other profiles.

The Special Prosecution Office has said that the case of 23 missing persons has been handled for seven years and the evidence collected so far points the investigation towards them, but only through DNA identification will it be confirmed whether they are the ones involved.

According to the Institute for War Crimes in Kosovo, 1.577 people remain missing from the 1998-1999 war, while a total of 12.230 war victims have been documented.

Kosovo has repeatedly requested cooperation from Serbia to clarify the fate of missing persons and access to military archives that, according to authorities, could help identify possible grave locations. /REL/