Crossfire War – Serbia Arrests Islamic Militants-Reports of Ahtisaari Dismissed

Crossfire War – BELGRADE – MOSCOW WATCH – Southeast Europe Theatre: Belgrade – Moscow – Tehran – Athens – Ankara/(Vienna – Brussels)/Novi Pazar – Riyadh – Tehran – Ankara; Serbia Security Arrests Four Members of Extreme Islamic Wahhabi Training Camp – Reports of UN Envoy Ahtisaari Being Dismissed

Night Watch: NOVI PAZAR – AKI reports Serbian security have arrested four men, members of the extreme Wahhabi sect of Islam, sponsored directly by the House of Saud, at a training camp near the town of Novi Pazar in southern Serbia just north of Kosovo. The town is also near the borders of Bosnia – Herzegovina, which is mostly Muslim and Montenegro. Police Minister Dragan Jocic stated, “The action that began three days ago is continuing today…determined to prevent any form of violence and terrorism.” Reports are that as many as 30 Wahhabis had received training at Ninjaja Mountain in tents and a cave. Weapons were discovered along with military uniforms and explosives. A fifth man is being sought. [AKI]

Wahhabism is the most extreme branch of Islam and is centered in Saudi Arabia, the personal favorite of the House of Saud. Members of it in the Balkans are noted for having disputes, even shootings with more moderate Islamic groups and they have long been financed by Saudi organizations in the name of humanitarian assistance. What enabled them and other Mujahadeen fighters to enter the Balkans was Brussels-NATO’s arms embargo against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the early 1990s when fighting erupted in 1992 between Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Serbs, supported by Belgrade. Turkey-Malaysia-Iran-Saudi Arabia and other Islamic governments all sent assistance to the Bosnian Muslims and a lot of the Mujahadeen have remained, waiting for the fighting to resume as it will this year mostly over Kosovo.

In other Balkan news, there are now reports Moscow is calling for United Nations Envoy Martti Ahtisaari to be removed. Russia National Security Adviser Igor Ivanov has been quoted as saying to Interfax, “…if there is no agreement, and so far as we understand there isn’t, that means it is necessary to continue talks and to appoint a new special representative.” Ahtisaari has been said to have admitted the negotiation process has been exhausted and that is probably true since both sides positions are in reality non-negotiable. The ethnic Albanians in Kosovo insist on independence, Serbian government in Belgrade refuses to give up 15% of Serbia’s territory after having lost control over most of Yugoslavia since the division, and wars began in 1991. [SERBIANNA]

In the process of the dispute, every either intervention by the international community, through the UN or military intervention by NATO has been mostly directed against Serbia. However, the current status quo in Kosovo benefits Belgrade since the province is still part of Serbia. That means it is the ethnic Albanians who will see the removal of Ahtisaari, and encouraged by Moscow, which supports Belgrade, as a move against Kosovo Albanians. Therefore, it is more likely for the militant Albanian independent groups like Self-Determination to set off the next series of Balkan wars. They are definitely prepared to take matters into their own hands and in close cooperation with the militant black uniformed Albanian National Army.

www.crossfirewar.com

Willard Payne
Willard Payne is an international affairs analyst who specializes in International Relations. A graduate of Western Illinois University with a concentration in East-West Trade and East-West Industrial Cooperation, he has been providing incisive analysis to NewsBlaze. He is the author of Imagery: The Day Before.