An article published on the Serbian news portal "Alo.rs" (April 8) claims without facts that "international organizations are warning of the growth of extremism in Kosovo and those who support this idea."
This article, titled "Dangerous Jihadists Threaten Our People (Serbs) in Kosovo! Albanians Attack Serbs", bases its claim on an attack that allegedly took place in northern Mitrovica, when a young Albanian attacked a young Serbian man with a knife, and according to sources in this media outlet, the young Albanian man shouted "Allahu Akbar" during questioning at the Police station.
Although, even the author of this article himself admits that such a thing was not disclosed in the Kosovo Police report.
Parts of the Alo.rs article translated into Albanian:
"Numerous studies by relevant international organizations warn of a rise in extremism in the southern Serbian province, as well as an increase in those who support this ideology."
The public is unaware of the fact that at the end of February, an Albanian from Mitrovica attacked a young Serbian man with a knife and that during interrogation he shouted “Allahu Akbar” and referred to the terrorist organizations Al Qaeda and Al Nusra fighting in the Middle East. This part was removed from the report of the so-called Kosovo Police, but the information managed to leak thanks to well-informed sources who are familiar with the details of the hearing. – A man of Albanian nationality A. Sh (24), who attacked a young Serbian man MM (26) a month and a half ago near the Technical School in the north of Mitrovica, Kosovo, was soon arrested on suspicion of committing the crime of attempted murder. He shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the hearing and threatened through Al Qaeda, Al Nusra and other terrorist organizations, the source says.
Link to the article published on "Alo.rs":
From this content, it is seen that the tendency to argue the claim that the young Albanian allegedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" and threatened through terrorist organizations, was made only by a source within the police. But further in the content, the fact is acknowledged that official data does not argue this, including the Kosovo Police report.
Several Kosovar media outlets have reported on this case, based on a police report and sources, but at no point has it been mentioned that the attacker has connections to terrorist groups.
Links to Kosovar media reports regarding the case:
https://sinjali.com/nje-person-sulmon-me-thike-tre-serb-ne-mitrovice-te-veriut/
https://www.syri-vision.tv/nje-shqiptar-sulmon-me-thike-tre-serb-ne-mitrovice-te-veriut/
To build the claim made in the article published on "Alo.rs", the author also refers to several old reports from a Belgrade-based security studies organization, the "Center for Security Studies", but which he does not cite at all.
"Previous research by the Center for Security Studies shows that the risk of terrorism comes from those who have never fought in war, but also from those who have been on the battlefields where ISIS operates. The number of those going to Syria through various channels over the last year is increasing. They are recruited in Kosovo and Metohija by radicalized imams, but also by other individuals.
As can be seen from this quote, it refers to the time when there was recruitment of young Kosovars into militant groups in the Middle East, and not to recent years, as claimed in the title and content of the article.
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:
This article published by “Alo.rs” clearly shows a tendency to distort the facts, to present a new reality. Also, the claims made are not based on any single reference, but are all rumored, diverting the sources. For this reason, this article is assessed by hibrid.info 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.