Author: M Barbu

Serbia Strengthening ‘Parallel Structures’, Kosovo Deputy PM Says

Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi tells BIRN that Serbia is still boosting Belgrade-run structures in Kosovo – and the EU-led dialogue won’t make progress until they are dissolved.

As the European Union-facilitated dialogue on normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo languishes in a stalemate, Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, says the conditions are not ripe for another high-level meeting between Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic.

With Ruling Party Ties, Serbian Right-Wing ‘Security’ Groups Flourish

BIRN has identified a handful of self-proclaimed ‘expert’ security organisations in Serbia that promote the police, military and right-wing tropes while enjoying ties to the country’s ruling party.

In October, a notice was published in the obituaries section of the Serbian newspaper Politika that read, ‘Last greetings to my friend and comrade-in-arms, Stevo Djokic.’ It was signed ‘Aleksandar Vucic.’

If Russia Invaded Ukraine

Warnings of an expanded Russian invasion of Ukraine have a “High Noon” feel. A renewed crisis could spur the United States and its NATO allies to go beyond, perhaps well beyond, their responses to Russia’s 2014 assault. This militarization could cause a dramatic increase in defense spending by both the United States and NATO over the next decade.

Germany’s Multicultural Suicide

“I will continue to take a critical stance against those… who use the liberal structure and tolerance of the constitution to impose totalitarian views of the state and who undermine the rules of the rule of law, using anti-Western indoctrination…. I will not adapt my vision of freedom of expression to…

The Eagle’s Nest: Migrants, Refugees Tread New Balkan Route

Migrants and refugees trying to reach Western Europe are increasingly using a new route via Kosovo, aided by smugglers and local middlemen.

The last time refugees passed through the small town of Kukes in northeast Albania was 22 years ago, when hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians from neighbouring Kosovo fled a brutal counter-insurgency war waged by Serbia in what was then the country’s southern province.

US officials say humanitarian effort in Syria is another means to counter ISIS

United States special operations forces in northeastern Syria have been quietly visiting local villages to help provide medical care to communities which have seen little health care in the wake of years of war.

The visits are done in partnership with the Syrian Defense Forces, (SDF) which operate in the region alongside the US in a years-long effort to root out any ISIS fighters.

Kosovo man charged with joining extremist group in Syria

Prosecutors brought terror charges Friday against an ethnic Albanian man from Kosovo who allegedly joined an extremist group in Syria and brought his family there.

A statement from the prosecutor’s office in Kosovo said the suspect, identified only as N. L., joined the Jabhat al-Nusra group along his son. Authorities allege he trained as a fighter and participated in attacks in Syria.

Islamic State targets peshmerga in Iraq’s disputed Diyala and Makhmour

A recent string of attacks on Iraq’s Kurdistan Region peshmerga forces have raised concern over how effective long-discussed coordination with the central government is in the country’s flashpoint disputed territories.

Peshmerga forces operating in territory disputed between the central government and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) have in recent days incurred multiple casualties in a number of attacks attributed to Islamic State (IS) cells.

Can Turkey help in Ukraine crisis?

Moscow is likely to welcome a Turkish mediation effort if it serves to restrain Ukraine from a military adventure.

Turkey has offered to mediate in the Ukraine crisis as tensions between NATO and Russia escalate, with fears that Russia might be gearing up to invade eastern Ukraine. The proposal from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has previously passed messages between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, seems to have generated little enthusiasm in Moscow and Kyiv.