I'd like to comment on part of the article that deals with Bosnia. The situation is more serious than the article describes it.  Bosnian insurgents (they could be called that way) have enforced  Sharia law  in the district.  They have openly declared that laws of Bosnia and Hercegovina do not apply to area they operated in. Public concerts were banned, because they were seen as violating Sharia norms. It seems that some illegal checkpoints have been set up, and the traffic was obstructed.

 

The village and surrounding district seem to have been used  as staging ground to induce  unrest in neighboring Serbia. There is a large territory called "Sandzak" (pronounced as "Sanjak") with majority of Muslim population. The territory spans through Serbia and Montenegro, and it is placed close to Bosnian border. It is, generally, underdeveloped, compared to the adjacent areas, and often seen as breeding ground for extremists .  It seems that the Bosnian group has been targeting Sandzak in the first place. 

 

Bosnian security forces refer to extremists as "wahabis", although I am not sure what sect do they actually belong. "Wahabi" or "wahabist" is becoming more and more common term for describing all kinds of islamic radicals in Bosnia. Bosnian security force kept extremists at bay, so far, but the possibility of Bosnian Serb referendum on secession might change things.

 

 

I might have seen too many spy movies, but I am afraid that something is wrong here. I think that the whole thing about insurgents in the village of Gornja Maoca might have been a decoy or distraction. News about Bosnian insurgents were covered in detail here, in Croatia, so I was able to learn more details.

 

First, those radicals made too much noise for someone who is trying to hide the weapons.. There was a photo displaying the arms confiscated. It was  typical pile of former Warsaw Pact weapons plus chemical ingredients for explosives. Nevertheless, it was reported that the leaders of the group have even invited some Muslims from Austria. They were very open about their agenda, making speeches, etc.

 

Second, the location was quite conspicuous. The village is in North Eastern Bosnia, where Bosniak (Muslim), Croat and Serbian communities are intermixed tightly. Croats and Serbs in the region have very low tolerance for things like Sharia  law, so someone must have tipped the police.

I am afraid that something mean has been happening, while police was distracted. Some bad people or dangerous gear might have been secretly moved towards Western Europe.

 

DG