French president calls Bosnia a 'ticking time-bomb'
French President Emmanuel Macron has described Bosnia and Herzegovina as a "ticking time-bomb" and the greatest concern for Europe in the Balkans due to what he said was its "problem of returning jihadists".
"If you're concerned about this region, the first question is neither Macedonia, nor Albania, it's Bosnia-Herzegovina. The time-bomb that's ticking right next to (the EU member) Croatia, and which faces the problem of returning jihadists," Macron said, referring to escaped or released fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) armed group who could return to Europe (following Trump's pullout of U.S. troops from Syria).
Croat member of Bosnia's presidency, Zeljko Komisic, said he would summon France's ambassador to Sarajevo for an explanation of the comments Macron made in an interview with The Economist magazine, published on Thursday.
A spokesman for Bosnia's Islamic community, Muhamed Jusic, described Macron's comments as "scandalous" and said the French president was slandering Bosnia to justify preventing Balkan countries with "significant Muslim populations" from fulfilling their aspirations of EU membership.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/french-president-calls-bosnia-ticking-time-bomb-191108053518237.html