Incomplete Analysis Hinders Anti-Extremism in the Balkans

Balkan governments need to support efforts to properly measure the scale of radicalisation and violent Islamic extremism and implement comprehensive strategies to tackle the issue, regional experts have warned.

"If we don't have a complete analysis of the phenomenon, how can we adopt an effective strategy, conduct monitoring and coordinate a multi-agency response?" Uros Pena, deputy director of the Bosnian Directorate for the Coordination of Police Bodies said during a conference organised by Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, on Wednesday.

In addition to problems with intelligence sharing between Bosnia's 15 police agencies, Pena also identified gaps in monitoring associates of suspected and known extremists.

Speaking of a "key figure" among Islamic extremists who is believed to have radicalised and supported violent jihadism, Pena said that security agencies had failed to identify other Bosnians who the suspect was in touch with.

He described it as an example of a reactive, rather than proactive, response to the issue that he believes is hampering Bosnia's ability to tackle the problem. He said that without full analysis and a comprehensive strategy that state will not "have an adequate reaction tomorrow".

Pena was speaking at BIRN's conference, Balkan Jihadists: The Radicalisation and Recruitment of Fighters in Syria and Iraq, held in Sarajevo.

During the event, BIRN presented the results of research into six countries in the region: Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

In the first cross-regional report of its kind, BIRN revealed an estimated 877 nationals from the six states included in the research have travelled to Syria and Iraq. Around 300 are believed to have...