Experts Scorn Claim that Bosnia is 'Terrorist Haven'

Bosnian analysts have dismissed sensational claims in the media that Bosnia is a haven for Muslim terrorists, and that Islamic State, ISIS, fighters could pour unchecked into the country.

"It is really absurd," Vlado Azinovic, an expert in terrorism in Bosnia and a member of the Atlantic Initiative, said."As if Daesh [ISIS] fighters would be teleported undetected over Turkey, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Kosovo, or Montenegro, before being deployed in Bosnia," he added. An analyst Djevad Galijasevic told Sputnik Serbia, a news outlet owned by Russia, that Islamism was on the rise in Bosnia where about half the population is Muslim."Islamist infrastructure has been around in Bosnia for the last three decades. There are no obstacles preventing it from developing. Propaganda of [radical religious ideas] and financial assistance [to extremists] have continued unabated," he said.
The article calls Bosnia an "ideal refuge of last resort" for Islamist militants and contains claims that fighters from the so-called Islamic State, also called Daesh, would flood into Bosnia if a large-scale Russian-American crackdown were to take place in the Middle East."This seems like a continuing hybrid war that has been going on in the region for quite some time," Azinovic said dismissing the claims.He said "the ultimate goal" of such claims was "to undermine Kosovo and Bosnia, typically by 'fake news' and 'analysis', or with claims about the alleged spotting of [Kosovo-Albanian Islamic State leader] Lavdrim Muhaxheri in Kosovo, or terrorist training camps in Bosnia.

Denis Hadzovic, from the Sarajevo-based Centre for Security Studies, said that contrary to such media claims, Bosnian authorities have actively tackled threats posed by extremist elements by pursuing...