SARAJEVO The remains of at least 40 people, believed to be Bosnian Muslims killed in 1992, were found in a mass grave in eastern Bosnia, an official of the Muslim-led commission for missing persons told AFP Tuesday.
The bodies were buried in sand on the bank of an artificial lake by the Drina River, 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the eastern town of Visegrad, Amor Masovic said.
The grave had been flooded, but since the water level recently fell the team was able to exhume the bodies, he added.
"It is difficult to tell the exact number of the victims since the bones were scattered, but these were the remains of at least 40 bodies," Masovic said, adding that his team was to continue with exhumation on Wednesday.
"The shells we found near the victims, one of whom had his hand tied with wire, indicate that they were shot," he said.
The identification of the victims, believed to be the inhabitants of two neighboring villages, will start later this month, Masovic added.
Five years after the 1992-95 war in Bosnia ended there are still over 17,000 people declared missing, most of them believed to be dead.