Missing persons

An art installation titled ‘Find Me’, created by Kosovan sculptor Eroll Murati, was displayed in the main square in Prishtina in November 2021. Photo: BIRN

Unburied Pain: Kosovo’s Missing Persons 26 Years Later

Twenty-six years have passed since the end of the Kosovo war, and yet the pain endures for many families—not only because of who they lost, but because they still don’t know where their loved ones are buried.

Road with surrounding which leads to the police base of special police forces near the settlement “13 Maj- May 13th”, where bodies of 744 Kosovo Albanians were found and excavated in 2001. Photo: BIRN/ Marko Risovic

Neglected and Abused: Families Search for Wartime Missing while Facing Trauma Alone

Families of missing persons from the 1998-99 Kosovo war have been left without institutional support and often fall prey to fraudsters promising to find and return their loved ones.

Excavations for missing persons during the Kosovo war, in Prekaz, Ferizaj, November 20, 2023. Photo: Kosovo Government Commission on Missing Persons/Facebook

Kosovo Calls for Blood Samples and Witnesses to Help Identify War Missing

More than two decades after the Kosovo war, the fate of around 1,600 missing persons remains unresolved. State institutions are now urging families to provide DNA samples and for witnesses to come forward—regardless of their ethnicity or role during the conflict.

Pedestrians walk past by silhouettes symbolising missing persons in Prishtina, Kosovo on August 30, 2021. Photo: EPA/VALDRIN XHEMAJ

Kosovo War Victims Await Forensic Identification as Resources Fall Short

More than a quarter of a century after the end of the war in Kosovo, the country’s ability to identify the missing is severely crippled by staff shortages, inadequate forensic equipment, outdated infrastructure, and lack of political will.

Photo from the archives: BIRN/ Atdhe Mulla

Hidden Graves: Kosovo’s Race Against Clock to Find Wartime Missing

As Kosovo continues its decades-long search for truth and justice, the Government Commission on Missing Persons stands at the front of one of the country’s most painful and unresolved legacies—locating around 1,600 missing people from the 1998–99 war.


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An art installation titled ‘Find Me’, created by Kosovan sculptor Eroll Murati, was displayed in the main square in Prishtina in November 2021. Photo: BIRN

Unburied Pain: Kosovo’s Missing Persons 26 Years Later
British journalist, Vaughan Smith (L), receiving the 'Honorary Citizen' award in Skenderaj, June 18, 2025. Photo: BIRN

UK Journalist who Reported on Kosovo War Declared ‘Honorary Citizen’ in Skenderaj

Kosovo Court Finds Serb Guilty of Wartime Rape
View of Vërmica, the border area between Kosovo and Albania. Photo: BIRN

Refugee Smuggling Networks Along Kosovo-Albania Border Profit Millions Using Blackmail and Violence

Prishtina Insight is a digital and print magazine published by BIRN Kosovo, an independent, non-governmental organisation. To find out more about the organization please visit the official website. Copyright © 2016 BIRN Kosovo.

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