Montenegro Urges Cooperation Against Islamic Radicalism

The head of the Committee for Security and Defense, Melvudin Nuhodzic, said on Sunday that because of the deadly attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, the Montenegrin security services should be more vigilant in monitoring Islamic extremists.

"It also requires more intensive communication between the security services in the region and with partner countries," Nuhodzic said in a statement.

He noted that Montenegro has not remained immune to "radical and extremist interpreters of Islam". According to National Security Agency data, from October 2012 onwards, 13 citizens of Montenegro went to fight alongside radical Muslim forces in Syria. Ten of them returned, one was killed and two others are still on the battlefield, it is believed.

Nuhodzic called last week's attack on Charlie Hebdo a "brutal, cowardly and terrorist act", saying that freedom of opinion and respect for human dignity should be protected as fundamental values.

Last week, Montenegrin officials, journalists and human rights activists expressed condolences for the 12 victims of the attack who included eight journalists and two policemen.

In a letter sent to the French government, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic called it a terrible and senseless act that represents an "attack on all of us and the democratic values that we share".

The leader of the Muslim community of Montenegro, Rifat Fejzic, called the massacre in Paris a cowardly and un-Islamic act.