One year ago, Europe’s largest camp for displaced people—Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos—was destroyed by several fires that erupted across September 8 and 9, 2020. This tragic event, which left some 12,000 people stranded with no safe place to stay, starkly illustrated the complete failure of the European Union’s (EU) “hotspot” approach to migration.
The EU and Western Balkans countries summit scheduled to take place on 5 and 6 October 2021 in Brdo pri Kranj, Slovenia is a part of strategic cooperation between the European Union and Western Balkans.
The European Union was established as a peace project after the end of World War II and it facilitated establishment of enduring peace and long-term stability in Europe. In the recent history, the Western Balkans region experienced a number of wars, after which fragile and peace and latent stability was established.
Evelin Banev, zis „Brendo”, cunoscut drept „Regele cocainei” din Bulgaria, a fost reţinut la 7 septembrie „în regiunea Kiev”, Ucraina, a indicat, vineri, Parchetul din Sofia într-un comunicat, adăugând că o cerere de extrădare este „în pregătire”, informează AFP, citată de Agerpres.
În locuinţa sa au fost descoperite un laborator de droguri şi plante de canabis, potrivit presei bulgare, care a difuzat o înregistrare video primită de la poliţia naţională ucraineană arătând arestarea lui într-o parcare.
Bulgaria has announced that it is sending hundreds of soldiers to its southern frontiers to stop migrants from crossing from Turkey and Greece. Bulgaria’s defence ministry says pressure on its borders is increasing.
Bulgaria announced on Thursday (August 26) that it would send between 400 to 700 soldiers to its borders with Greece and Turkey, to support around 1,000 border police officers already stationed there.
The Islamic State (IS) will remain a threat in 2018, experts say. Thousands of foreign fighters are now coming back to their home countries following the collapse of the so-called “caliphate”. From the around 900 people from the Western Balkans who have travelled to Syria and Iraq between 2011 and 2016, 250 have already returned.
Despite the different reasons for doing so, returnees raise security concerns, to which local governments should respond. The key challenge for security actors is how to assess the threat posed by former IS combatants and their families. Although returnees have not contributed to the threat of terrorism locally, they create some degree of risk, not only to the Western Balkans but also to Europe as many returnees have dual citizenship or links to their diaspora
communities across the continent.
Abstract
This research note looks at the radical influencers of Bosnian foreign fighters. This group is important, as the Balkan region has been seen as a spot of jihadist activism and recruitment for the IS and Al-Nusra Front. Previous research on foreign fighters emphasized that a small number of individuals (religious leaders, former combatants, and others) at the local level play a significant role in this recruitment. The influence of such figures results in hotspots of radical activism, which are called “power centers” here. This research note argues that such dynamics are likely to be even more evident in postwar societies due to state weaknesses, which create more power for social actors and inhibit counterterrorism. The paper also analyses the role of leader-led radical “institutions” that have appeared after the Bosnian War. By doing so, it stresses the significance of local radical influencers in the recruitment of Bosnian foreign fighters. The research note shows that radical influencers in postwar radical milieus manage to “institutionalize” their authority by filling the void left by domestic war(s) with life guidance and religious values. The paper provides insights into the social relations, authority and decision-making connected with foreign fighter departures to Syria and Iraq (2012-2016).
As work nears completion in the first phase of an ambitious project in Montenegro to develop a highway that will connect the Adriatic port of Bar with Serbia, Western officials and mainstream media are ramping up attacks on the endeavor. Western commentators are united in condemnation, ranging from fear-mongering over China’s role to disparaging the plan’s viability. Consistently, they dismiss it as “the highway to nowhere,” implying foolishness on the part of Montenegro and presenting it as a cautionary tale on the dangers of doing business with China. The theme fits neatly within the framework of Washington’s campaign to economically isolate and cripple China, its main competitor in the global economy.
Turcii ridică ziduri groase de trei metri înălțime la granița cu Iranul, iar Grecia detaşează forţe de poliţie şi echipamente suplimentare pentru a se pregăti pentru eventualitatea apariţiei în săptămânile următoare a unei presiuni migraţioniste ca urmare a evoluţiilor din Afganistan.
The recent repatriation of families of ISIS fighters to Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia poses a tough challenge to all three countries to rehabilitate them back into society.
By Fjori Sinoruka, Xhorxhina Bami and Sinisa Jakov Marusic*
On July 18, North Macedonia announced that it had repatriated 23 of its citizens who had spent the last few years on the battlefields in Syria and Iraq and been one-time members of Islamic State, ISIS.
We believe that the principles of impartiality and neutrality are not synonymous with silence. When Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams witness extreme acts of violence against individuals or groups, or when access to lifesaving medical care is hindered, we may speak out publicly. Our decision to do so is always guided by our mission to alleviate suffering, protect life and health, and to restore respect for human beings and their fundamental human rights.