Serbs in Kosovo mark 9 years since murder of teens

BELGRADE Serbs in the enclave of Gorazdevac in Kosovo and Metohija are today remembering two teenagers shot and killed in a terrorist attack nine years ago. 19-year-old Ivan Jovovic and 13-year-old Pantelija Dakic were among a group of Serb youths bathing in a local river, when they were ambushed and sprayed with bullets from automatic weapons. Serbs in Kosovo mark 9 years since murder of teens Four more, aged 12 to 20, were wounded on the day. The families and friends of the innocent victims will visit their graves, while services will be held at a local church. On August 13, 2003, ethnic Albanian terrorists ambushed the group, spending the day at the Bistrica River. They fired a total of 90 bullets at the children and youths there. UN mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, said after the attack that "an unknown number of people opened fire from the bushes, using Kalashnikovs (AK 47s) at some 50 children and youths, mostly Serbs from the enclave of Gorazdevac." The Kosovo police (KPS) interviewed 75 witnesses, including those wounded in the attack, and searched some 100 homes. The fathers of the victims said that they knew who the killers were, and that they passed this information to the NATO troops, KFOR. Even though representatives of the international community said in the wake of the murders they would "leave no stone unturned", the investigation has been closed, while the killers are still free. A money reward worth one million euros, offered by UNMIK, did not help apprehend them. It was the EU mission, EULEX, investigators who in late 2010 closed the investigation due to a lack of evidence, while a Slovenian prosecutor notified the families of the victims of this in early 2011. EULEX spokesperson Irina Gudeljevic said last year that "any officially closed investigation could be reopened if new information appeared". The Gorazdevac murders were at the time condemned by heads of UNMIK and KFOR, and representatives of the EU, the U.S., France and Russia, as well as the Kosovo Albanian officials in Pristina. The former State Union of Serbia and Montenegro demanded a session of the UN Security Council in the wake of the killings. Over the weekend, the chief of Serbia's newly established Government Office for Kosovo, Aleksandar Vulin, urged EULEX to reopen the investigation and find perpetrators of the Gorazdevac crime. The scene of the murders (FoNet, file) Beta Tanjug

Serbs in Kosovo mark 9 years since murder of teens

Four more, aged 12 to 20, were wounded on the day.

The families and friends of the innocent victims will visit their graves, while services will be held at a local church.

On August 13, 2003, ethnic Albanian terrorists ambushed the group, spending the day at the Bistrica River. They fired a total of 90 bullets at the children and youths there.

UN mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, said after the attack that "an unknown number of people opened fire from the bushes, using Kalashnikovs (AK 47s) at some 50 children and youths, mostly Serbs from the enclave of Goraždevac."

The Kosovo police (KPS) interviewed 75 witnesses, including those wounded in the attack, and searched some 100 homes. The fathers of the victims said that they knew who the killers were, and that they passed this information to the NATO troops, KFOR.

Even though representatives of the international community said in the wake of the murders they would "leave no stone unturned", the investigation has been closed, while the killers are still free. A money reward worth one million euros, offered by UNMIK, did not help apprehend them.

It was the EU mission, EULEX, investigators who in late 2010 closed the investigation due to a lack of evidence, while a Slovenian prosecutor notified the families of the victims of this in early 2011.

EULEX spokesperson Irina Gudeljevic said last year that "any officially closed investigation could be reopened if new information appeared".

The Goraždevac murders were at the time condemned by heads of UNMIK and KFOR, and representatives of the EU, the U.S., France and Russia, as well as the Kosovo Albanian officials in Priština. The former State Union of Serbia and Montenegro demanded a session of the UN Security Council in the wake of the killings.

Over the weekend, the chief of Serbia's newly established Government Office for Kosovo, Aleksandar Vulin, urged EULEX to reopen the investigation and find perpetrators of the Goraždevac crime.