ISIS returnees: Ongoing problem in political turmoil in Kosovo

Nahla Abdel Moneim

Europe is facing the problem of the growth of Islamism, in parallel with those returning from ISIS in societies that are still fragile politically and security-wise on the outskirts of the continent, which represents a threat to public security.

Kosovo, which lies in the Balkan region and has a recent history of extremist conflicts, has hundreds of ISIS militants returning, creating a new challenge to their political conditions.

The perpetrator of the recent Austrian attack, Kujtim Fejzulai, 20 years old, has Balkan origins going back to Albania and North Macedonia, brought back talk about the region, the roots of some of its extremist citizens, and the violence committed by successive generations. In this atmosphere over the repercussions and factors of violence, Kosovo is experiencing internal turmoil that may enhance its security, which is intertwined with several files.

Turmoil of returnees hits Kosovo

About 300 Kosovars were able to travel to the Middle East to join extremist groups, whether ISIS or al-Qaeda groups in Syria and Iraq, according to a report published by the London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat on June 6, 2018.

After the end of the great power of ISIS in the region, the killing of the leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in late 2019, and Turkey and the United States putting pressure on European countries to take back their citizens from Kurdish prisons or Turkish camps, Kosovo was forced to return its citizens.

On November 11, the Balkan Site website stated that 200 people from extremist groups have returned to the country from 2018 until now, while about 100 others have been killed, and some are still in prisons in the Middle East, which represents a great inconvenience to community security if the state authorities cannot truly contain them.

According to the website, Avni Islami, advisor to Kosovo’s Ministry of Interior, warned of an increasing security risk in the country following the return of ISIS militants, adding that the collapse of the main geographical stronghold of the extremist organization increased security concerns in the region, because the returnees are likely to have been subjected to combat training, as well as training in explosives manufacturing.

The security official indicated that some of the returnees not only participated in violence in the Middle East, but some of them joined terrorist plots to carry out attacks in their own countries and in Europe in general, adding that the authorities may find it difficult to track their sources of funding.

This in turn raises questions about the role of the authorities in monitoring the communication processes between these networks, and to ensure that there is no continuous contact with extremist leaders in the Middle East, or the preoccupation of returnees with groups that recruit young extremists, especially in light of the preoccupation with dealing with the corona virus, which represents a challenge to these countries.

Intertwining of political and security files in Kosovo

It appears from the continuity of presenting the problems of returnees to society in Kosovo, the extent of the political difficulty in dealing with the file in light of major internal crises, the spread of the corona virus is no longer the only variable pressing on the state authorities to balance the security treatment in the country. Rather the ruling authority is facing turmoil, which is represented by President Hashim Taji’s resignation from the government on November 5, against the background of an international court confirming an accusation of committing war crimes.

Consequently, the possibilities of exploiting the crisis situation in the country to incite violence appear serious and frightening, especially with the press close to the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan being busy with analyses directed towards reshaping politics in the Balkan countries after the resignation of the Kosovo president. This foreshadows the risks that may arise against the background of any support for extremist fronts.

Moreover, the country suffers from increasing Iranian influence, which the government had aspired to undermine through measures it had previously taken. In July 2019, the resigning president decided to adopt the European Union’s terrorist list in his country, in a move that included the Lebanese Hezbollah, which threatens a decline that may occur in this regard if the country’s political crises worsen.