Police suspect S.R. from Ulcinj is behind the attempts of young Montenegrin men to wage war in Syria. The man is believed to be associated with the Wahhabi movement in neighboring countries, primarily in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he lived for a time.
“We have information that six Montenegrin citizens were fighting in Syria. Two were killed earlier, and we are unable to confirm whether one citizen managed to cross the border because he was turned away twice already”, police told Dan.
It is suspected that the center for the recruitment of foreign mercenaries is located in Sarajevo, where there is a center for Islamic Wahhabi brothers. The owner of this object was, until recently, Montenegrin citizen S.R. from Ulcinj, who then sold the building to the leader of the Wahhabis in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“One of the locations where Montenegrin citizens who want to fight in Syria gather, is a house of Bajro Ikanović in Hadzici. Ikanovic is currently in Syria where he commands one of the local units. According to available data, Montenegrin citizens O.R. From Plav, A.M. and D.S. from Bar, E.K. from Bijelo Polje and S.F. and A.F. from Rozaje are currently in Syria, but this number is not final, because to our knowledge, there are at least 13 of our citizens in the country”, police said.
The Wahhabi movement is currently undergoing a division between those who advocate the ISIS, headed by imam Bilal Hussein and sympathized by the very radical and extremist group of Bajro Ikanović; the other side is led by Nusret Imamovic and a hafiz from Mostar, Dzevad Golos, who has been to Syria twice and fought in the notorious unit Ahrar al-Sham. Their movement is very close to Al Qaeda. Among the warriors in Syria is also one Orthodox Christian, Marko Nikolic, who converted to Islam.
All those who are fighting in Syria for the most part are financed from Luxembourg.
“The main financier is Mirsad Ajderpašić, and then Fuat and Fatos Hadziju, all three from Luxembourg. Also among the sponsors and individuals from Pristina and Austria”, a source told Dan.
On the battlefields in Syria, in the last two years, Montenegrin citizens Mirza Haklaj and Adis Salihovic were killed. Rožaje resident Adis Salihovic fought in Syria under the name Abu Merdia and died on 15 May 2013. In the same action, Eldar Kundakovic from Novi Pazar was killed, after fighting under the pseudonym of Abu Bera. The two men were killed during an attack on a prison from which they wanted to rescue their like-minded people.
It was recently reported the war in Syria killed Mirza Haklaj from Podgorica as well. He got into the focus of public attention in July 2009 when he and four other men from Podgorica interfered with the performance of religious ceremonies in the Osmanagic mosque. The men left the religious object only when they were presented with the order of the municipal court.
The amendments to the Criminal Code of Montenegro now prescribe prison sentences of two to ten years for those who, contrary to the law, regulations or rules of the international law, solicit, recruit, prepare, organize, manage, transport or arrange transport, or train individuals or groups with the intention of their joining or engagement in foreign fighting formations. Prison sentences are also provided for those who are financially or logistically helping departure of Montenegrin citizens for battlefields abroad.
