DNA identification of war and mass catastrophies victims

Abstract

After the armed conflicts throughout the nineties of the twentieth century occurred in former Yugoslavia, identification of war victims is a challenging task. This paper gives a detailed description of exhumed remains identification process. One of the study objectives has been a comparison between DNA results and traditional forensic identification methods. This paper deals with the identification of human remains that were exhumed in Kosovo and Metohia in the period 2001-2012, belonging to Serbs and other non-Albanian ethnic communities (Montenegrins, Bosniaks, Roma, Gorani, and others), as well as much lower number of Albanians who were also killed during the war and post-war period. The experience of this process and the experience of other countries show that there is a need to organize appropriate services for identification of human remains in Serbia, capable to react effectively in case of mass disaster.

Keywords

• identification
• exhumation
• human remains
• Kosovo and Metohia