Special Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Kosovo (PSRK) filed an indictment on Thursday against two Serbian defendants with the initials I.R and DD, for the criminal offense of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo.

“As members of the police forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia, during a widespread and systematic attack by Serbian military, police and paramilitary forces, against the Albanian civilian population in the territory of the municipality of Pristina, with the use of violence and other actions inhuman, committed sexual violence against a woman of Albanian nationality”, said the PSRK in a press release.

Prosecution said that the accused have committed the crime of “war crimes against the civilian population”.

“In this case, the victim suffered serious physical injuries to the body as well as permanent psychological trauma,” the announcement states.

The Special Prosecutor’s Office asked the Basic Court in Pristina to hold the trial in absentia against the accused, since “all legal efforts to find them have been exhausted.”

In Kosovo’s war in 1998/99, more than 13,000 civilians were killed and thousands more disappeared.

Over 1,600 people are still missing – most of them Albanians.

However, the exact number of victims of sexual violence during the war is not known.

According to a report by the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention, this figure reaches up to 20 thousand.

Kosovo declared its independence in 2008 and is recognized by over 100 countries around the world.

Serbia does not recognize its independence and in the Constitution continues to consider it as part of its territory.