Serbian-language media outlet Alo.rs published an article yesterday (March 19) claiming that "Pristina authorities are using radical Islamists on one side to exert pressure on Kosovo Serbs" and that Kosovo "has an organizational structure and capacity for radical Islam, although it hides it from the public."
The article is based on statements by, as it is called in the content, security expert, Gjevat Galijašević, who does not provide any credible facts or references for the claims made.
Link to the article published on "Alo.rs":
https://www.alo.rs/vesti/kim/737781/cveta-islamski-terorizam-na-kosovu-u-opasnosti-i-region/vest
Parts of the article published on "Alo.rs":
According to him, Kosovo has proven by sending radical soldiers to the Syrian and Iraqi battlefields that it has an organizational structure and capacity for radical Islam, even though it hides it from the public.
He emphasizes that the Pristina authorities are using radical Islamists on the one hand to exert pressure on Serbs from Kosovo, while on the other hand radical Islam is being used to exert additional pressure in the municipalities of Medvedja, Bujanovac and Presevo and then Montenegro and Macedonia.
From what can be seen in the content of the article, these claims are based solely on the opinion of a so-called security expert.
However, for the claims that Kosovo is "using radical Islamists to exert pressure on Kosovo Serbs" and that "Kosovo "has an organizational structure and capacity for radical Islam, although it hides it from the public", Gjevat Galijašević does not provide any references as credible evidence (documents) to support his claims.
From what the security expert has stated, it seems that there is a constructed narrative, but without any facts to support it. Hibrid.info has addressed some of the claims related to the presence of groups linked to radical Islam in Kosovo. As well as senior officials from Serbia, the media have previously raised similar claims.
Some similar claims addressed by hibrid.info:
The claim that Western services could use radical Islamists to attack Serbs in Kosovo,
It is claimed without evidence that ISIS training is being organized in Kosovo.,
The fact-free claim that there is a growth of "jihadist groups" in Kosovo".
Furthermore, the Republic of Kosovo has published the state strategy for preventing and combating terrorism 2023-2028, which highlights the fact that:
“The Republic of Kosovo will continue to be an active part of the global fight against terrorism and its financing, through close cooperation and coordination with partners and international mechanisms that address this area. In responding to all forms of terrorism, the Republic of Kosovo and its institutions are guided by the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which is a roadmap for every effort to counter these phenomena. State authorities are also implementing the Agreement with the European Commission on the implementation of the Joint Action Plan against Terrorism for the Western Balkans, the validity and continuation of which has been extended to October 2020.” (here)
In fact, previous reports (years ago) from security studies organizations have presented the involvement of Kosovars in the wars of Middle Eastern states as a security threat, but not in the last three years. According to a report by the Kosovo Center for Security Studies (KCSS) published in October 2018, it is stated that returnees from Middle Eastern wars pose a very small risk, which contradicts the claim of the Alo.rs article.
Excerpt from the conclusion of the report “Beyond the Triggers: The New Dangers of Violent Extremism in Kosovo”, prepared by KCSS: (Look here)
"So far, the majority of Kosovo’s foreign fighters who returned after fighting with IS are being tried or have been convicted for their involvement in terrorist activities. Despite the large number of foreign fighters returning to Kosovo, their involvement in terrorist activity is relatively low. Of the 135 foreign fighters who returned to Kosovo after fighting with IS in Syria and Iraq, 5 were involved in planning terrorist attacks or other incidents in Kosovo.”
Analyze:
Gjevat Galijašević claims without evidence that, “the Pristina authorities are using radical Islamists on one side to exert pressure on Serbs from Kosovo” and that Kosovo “has an organizational structure and capacity for radical Islam, although it hides it from the public.”
This claim was made by this, as it is called, security expert, without referring to any credible source. Whereas, the findings of reports from credible sources, treated by hibrid.info, say the opposite. So, they argue the reduction in the number of foreign fighters. Also, the commitment of Kosovo institutions to publish the state strategy for preventing and combating terrorism 2023-2028, proves the opposite of the claim.
Based on the working methodology, hibrid.info evaluates this claim as a "conspiracy theory".
Rating:
"Conspiracy theories" are media reports that disseminate a false or unverifiable description of a phenomenon, event, or person, presenting it as part of or the result of a secret plan ("conspiracy"). A characteristic of these reports is that they present a series of claims, presented as facts, between which cause-effect relationships are established, without providing any credible evidence.