US General Rallies Kosovo For Fight Against Islamists

General John Allen visited Kosovo on Thursday, meeting top officials on a mission to strengthen cooperation within the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, of which Kosovo is a part.

President Atifete Jahjaga said in a meeting with the US General that mainly Muslim Kosovo was determined "never to become a haven for terrorist groups or a source of extremism".

She stressed the need for closer coordination between all countries of the region to "combat phenomena that are threatening the stability and security of the country, of the region and beyond".

General Allen also met Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and Interior Minister Skender Hyseni.

A local expert on radical Islam, Shpend Kursani, said US support for the campaign and the visit of the general were important, as the US was the only foreign country assisting Kosovo in its efforts to fight terrorism.

"Considering that around 250 Kosovo citizens have joined the fight on the side of Islamic State, that around 50 are still there and that some of them have died, the visit of the general is of high importance. The US is the only outside factor interested in confronting this phenomenon, whether with political or financial support," Kursani said.

Although the number of people from Kosovo fighting in the wars in the Middle East is small, only around 200 out of 1.8 million citizens, it is significant because religion previously played no role in Kosovo politics and is usually practiced privately.

The government pledged in 2014 to join its Western allies in fighting radical Islam, which resulted in the arrest of more than 80 suspected Imams and other alleged extremists.

General Allen is expected to visit Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia after Kosovo.