48 civilians were killed, fourteen of which were under the age of fifteen 

BELGRADE --  Nine individuals suspected of war crimes perpetrated in Suha Reke (Kosovo) have been taken into custody and are awaiting questioning by the War Crimes Sector of the Belgrade District Court.

War crimes court representative Bruno Vekaric said that among the nine suspects, six are current employees of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs. The war crimes investigation stems from the mass grave site uncovered in Batajnica in which the remains of murdered civilians from the Kosovo village of Suha Reka were found.

"The prosecutor's office for war crimes, on October 3, requested permission to begin an investigation into nine individuals who are suspected of committing war crimes against civilians in Kosovo in March of 1999. These individuals were taken in to the investigative court and their period of confinement will soon be determined. The crimes in question revolve around events which took place in Suva Reka, where according to our information, 48 civilians were killed, fourteen of which were under the age of fifteen." Vekaric said.  

President of the Humanitarian Rights Fund, Natasa Kandic, expects that the Suva Reka case will open up new indictments related to other war crimes activities.

"The Suva Reka case is just one of many, and was very well organized and thought out by officials of the Suva Reka police station, whose goal it was to push a majority of the population out of the village and back towards the Albanian border." Kandic said.

"According to information which the HRF has, during the NATO bombing, more than 25,000 people were forced out of the municipality of Suva Reka, about 300 people are still missing, and many of the bodies found in the mass graves in Batajnica have still not been identified. What I would like to see is an answer to why we are still working with police officers today that were direct participants in war crimes activities." Kandic said.

Source: B92