Remains of 17 people exhumed in Rudnica

Remains of 17 people exhumed in Rudnica

BELGRADE -- The remains of 17 people and a number of skeletal remains have been exhumed to date from a mass grave at the Rudnica quarry in the municipality of Raška.

This was announced on Tuesday by the Serbian Government Commission for Missing Persons.

It is believed that ethnic Albanian victims of the war in Kosovo were buried at the location, the Beta news agency reported.

According to the assessments of experts, the remains of 21 people have been exhumed, and their identity will be determined by the DNA analysis, reported Tanjug.

The exhumation at the Rudnica quarry started on April 23 upon the order of the War Crimes Department of the Belgrade High Court.

A number of exhumed remains are undergoing forensic processes and identification.

The field search and excavation now seek to broaden their scope so as to find other remains that are believed to be buried at this location, the statement reads.

Aside from the authorized state bodies and a team of expert witnesses from Serbia, which are in charge of the forensic aspect of the exhumation, officials of EULEX, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Commission on Missing Persons and delegations of the Working Group on Missing Persons from Priština are also present at the site in the capacity of observers.