A mass grave with at least ten bodies was found at the waste disposal site in Vukovar, where trial excavations in search of the missing from the Homeland War have been ongoing since April 2022, Veterans Affairs Minister Tomo Medved confirmed on Monday.

“I do not wish to speculate about the identity of the victims. The first preliminary examinations indicate that we are dealing with victims from the Homeland War,” Medved said, adding that civilian clothing was also found. This, however, should not be misleading because it is known that many Croatian defenders were in civilian clothes after the collapse of Vukovar's defence.

He also said that analysis of the soil found at the site was brought together with the remains, indicating that it is a secondary grave. In late 2021 the ministry was informed about this possibility by the security intelligence agency.

“This entire time over the past two years, the State Attorney's Office and the Interior Ministry have stood with us, so when we complete our part of the investigation, they will work on identifying the perpetrators and bring charges,” he said.

He stated that more than 90,000 cubic meters of materials and waste were transported during the test excavations at the site.

According to Medved, preliminary investigations indicate that these remains were moved from a primary location to this site in the first half of 1992, during the temporary occupation of Vukovar.

Croatia will not tire of searching for the missing, the perpetrators will be held to account

He recalled that four mass graves were found in the wider area of ​​Vukovar in the past eight years, which, he claimed, was the result of a systematic institutional approach.

He told the families of the missing that Croatia will never get tired of finding missing persons from the Homeland War and that the perpetrators of crimes will be held accountable.

State Attorney General Ivan Turudić also appeared at the press conference and said that responsibility for the committed crimes rests with the perpetrators, and those who knew about them all these years, but remained silent and are remaining silent today.

He recalled that an Osijek County Court judge issued an order for the exhumation two years ago and that two years of painstaking work was achieved only in the last month.

Search for 1,797 people from the Homeland War continues, remains of 170 exhumed in the last eight years

Turudić explained that the remains will be sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Zagreb, where the necessary analyses will be carried out and an attempt will be made to establish the identity of the victims, and then move towards the perpetrator.

He also promised the family members of the missing that the search for their loved ones would not stop.

The president of the Association of Associations of Families of Imprisoned and Missing Croatian Veterans from the Homeland War Ljiljana Alvir said that more than 300 families are searching for answers to the whereabouts of their loved ones who are unaccounted for since the war.

According to the ministry,1,797 persons from the Homeland War are currently being sought in Croatia. In the last eight years, the remains of 170 victims were exhumed, and 263 victims were identified.

Excavations at the latest site at Petrovački Dol are continuing while at the same time trial excavations at the waste disposal site in Bobota, also near Vukovar, are ongoing.