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Paris Attacks: The Balkan Connection

The Paris Attacks And The Balkans Connection

In the wake of the Paris massacre, questions are being asked about the source of the weapons that took the lives of so many.

Answers may lie in the heart of the Balkans, where a stockpile of armaments has amassed some 15 years after the end of the Yugoslav Wars.

Military experts say the weapons used in Paris in the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in January were almost certainly from the area.

Ivan Zverzhanovski works for the United Nations in the Balkans. He says the 1991-95 wars left the region awash with arms, and that coupled with a strong hunting tradition and cultural affinity for firearms, made the area a rich vein of armaments.

He told The Telegraph newspaper "The Balkans is certainly a major source of weapons into Europe. And in almost 100 per cent of cases, the weapons have been legally produced, and then fallen into the wrong hands."

His organisation estimates that almost 1.1 million firearms are currently in Bosnia, both legally and illegal held. Of those almost 750,000 are held illegally, meaning that there is one illegal firearm for every five citizens. And within the armed forces, the estimated surplus has been assessed at 99,882 weapons and 22,500 tons of ammunition.

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In 1997 a major military and police storage facility in Albania was ransacked, which still fuelled the conflict a decade later in the area.

Director of RUSI, Professor Michael Clarke, told Forces TV that during the Albanian crisis in 1997, 750,000 Kalashnikovs disappeared and many came onto the black market. Many went to Rotterdam and were then exported around the world.

Certainly, the latest attacks have reinforced what the French police already know – just how easy it is to obtain a significant cache of weapons from within Europe.