Set of 40 mortal remains repatriated to Kosovo under UN auspices

A second group of some 40 bodies exhumed from Batajnica, Serbia, and believed to be of missing Kosovo Albanians, were repatriated under United Nations auspices today.

The Office on Missing Persons and Forensics (OMPF) of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) arranged the transfer in cooperation with the UN Civilian Police Missing Persons Unit (MPU) and the Serbian authorities.

All documentation – comprising lists, autopsy reports, death and identification certificates – will be checked before the mortal remains are handed over. The OMPF/MPU team will also confirm that the label codes of the bodies and clothing correspond to the lists provided by the Coordination Committee for Kosovo (CCK).

After the verification procedure, the mortal remains will be transported to the mortuary for forensic inspections.

UNMIK said family members would be the first to be informed as soon as their loved ones are identified. The provenance of the victims shall not be disclosed to the public at the request of the family associations.

The first group of bodies exhumed from Serbia were repatriated to Kosovo in early May.