Two Islamic State fighters who were identified as Bosnian citizens will, according to the Security Minister, likely be extradited from Syria to Bosnia by the end of the month, but no information on what will happen with three Bosnian women and their nine children who are also currently in Syria is available yet.
According to Dragan Mektic, Bosnia’s Security Minister, Ibro Cufurovic and Armin Curt could be extradited to Bosnia soon.
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“Some new technical problems emerged regarding this, but what I can say now is that it is being finalised,” Mektic said, announcing that “those persons will be extradited to Bosnia and Herzegovina by the end of the month at the latest.”
Edin Muftic, Nedim Mujcinovic, Aldin Blagojevic and Elmedin Sinanovic are also Bosnian citizens currently located in Camp Roj, and will possibly also be extradited to Bosnia following checks.
But there are many more Bosnians who fought either for the Islamic State of the Al-Nusra Front and who surrendered to Kurdish forces.
Among them are Amir Selimovic and Alija Keserovic. AFP also recently published photos of Edvin Babic. Salem Hasic, Senad Kasupovic and Enes Borovac were also captured.
“The Kurds do not have a state, we are not talking about a state structure with which you could negotiate about deportation or extradition of your citizens,” terrorism expert Vlado Azinovic told N1.
He explained that the US in the past offered to mediate for coalition member countries regarding the extradition of their citizens from Iraq and Syria, but that now the US is withdrawing from the area and that “it is questionable whether the potential technical and logistical capacities which were available two or three months ago are still there.”
Along with two other Bosnian women, the sister of Alema Dolamic has been in Camp Roj for a year and a half. She became a widow after the death of her husband, IS fighter Nermin Jahic.
The three women and their nine children asked Bosnia’s authorities to help return them home.
The last meeting between officials from Bosnia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and members of the families of the three women took place end of February. The families hope their sisters and daughters will soon arrive in Bosnia and leave the bad conditions of the Camp, where uncertainty and diseases are rampant.
“I want everyone to come back to their home – regardless of whether they will go to prison or not. I can’t understand it – those two former US fighters are in the camp for a year and a half, just as long as my sister is,” Dolamic said.
“The three (women) have been identified and registered, their fingerprints were taken – just as for those two guys, and I don’t understand why a deportation can be organised of the two of them (Cufurovic and Curt), but not for the three women and their nine children,” she added.
According to available information, there are 31 Bosnian citizens in Camp Roj.
In another camp, Hol, the number of Bosnians is unknown, but what is known is that there are some.
In only three months the number of those arriving at the camp, as they have nowhere else to go, grew from 10 to 76 thousand, according to information by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“When you enter the camp you see what is almost an apocalyptic scene. You see a lot of children who cry and scream, people with open wounds, people dying. The level of suffering is unbelievable,” according to Fabrizio Carboni, ICRC Director for the Near and Middle East.
“You get overwhelmed with emotions when you pass through the camp, with people laying on the ground – completely shocked, lost,” he said.
There is no official information available about whether, when and who will guarantee the return of Bosnian citizens and their children from the camps.
