Kosovo authorities arrested nine people in northern Kosovo during a police operation on Sunday on suspicion of war crimes against civilians, in a case linked to the discovery of mass graves in August, containing the remains of 23 people who were forcibly disappeared during the 1998-99 war.

The arrests were made during an early-morning police operation in several villages in the northern Kosovo municipality, on the orders of the Special Prosecution Office.

The operation, codenamed “File 23”, follows the discovery of three mass graves in Zubin Potok in August. The remains of at least 23 people were recovered from three sites in Kalludër and Jabukë and sent to The Hague for DNA identification.

On September 19, Kosovo authorities confirmed that the remains of three victims belonged to members of the so-called “Intellectuals’ Group”—a group of 23 Kosovo Albanians who disappeared in April 1999.

The Special Prosecution Office noted the nine suspects were detained for 48 hours. They were identified only by their initials: D.D., M.R., M.R., R.R., S.D., S.D., V.L., R.R., and D.D.

According to the Special Prosecution statement, during raids at several locations, police seized mobile phones, two military booklets, a long-barrelled weapon, a hunting rifle, ammunition, four shells, 23,000 euros in cash and around 60,000 Serbian dinars.

According to Kosovo authorities, the group was abducted and forcibly disappeared on April 19, 1999, by Serbian forces. The victims were mainly from Skenderaj and Mitrovica and included activists, professionals and other public figures. 

The Special Prosecution Office had notified the mass graves were located following a two-year investigation.

Four people had previously been arrested in connection with the case. Identified by their initials as J.R., M.J., R.K. and M.B., they are also suspected of war crimes against civilians and remain in pre-trial detention.

One of the four is alleged by Kosovo authorities to have been an active member of the Yugoslav Army during the war.

The arrests caused criticism from the Belgrade backed Srpska Lista party, who said the operation had created “fear, concern and insecurity” among Serbs in northern Kosovo.

“This is not a legal process, with full respect for the presumption of innocence and the right to a defence, but revenge and [Prime Minister Albin] Kurti’s way of persecuting Serbs,” the party said.

Serbia’s Office for Kosovo also criticised the operation, claiming that such police actions were intended to “expel” and “intimidate” Serbs in Kosovo.

A report published on July 29 by Kosovo’s Institute for Crimes Committed During the War said that 1,578 people remain missing.

Kosovo authorities and families of missing people have repeatedly called on Serbia to provide information and open its wartime archives concerning the locations of burial sites.

Meanwhile, a separate war crimes trial is underway in Kosovo against 21 people accused of involvement for the expulsion of more than 800,000 Kosovo Albanians during the war. The latest session was held on Monday.

The defendants are being tried in absentia. According to the Special Prosecution Office’s indictment, they are accused of exercising authority and control over forces operating under their responsibility between January and June 1999.