335 citizens from Kosovo are registered in Syria, including 54 women and 27 children, the UNDP report on factors contributing to join radical networks in Syria and other war zones said, KoSSev portal reported.
Those who are going there are between 18 and 25 years old, while 72 percent are unemployed. According to official figures, 52 persons from Kosovo died in a war in Syria.
The report is based on the interviews with those who have returned to Kosovo, their families and those who are supporting unilateral extremist groups. It also notes that most of the women who left Kosovo have not returned, and that the highest percentage of women went to Syria in 2015.
Some respondents mentioned moral and religious reasons to join fights, while the main reasons are the lack of choice, poverty, poor education and identity crisis, KoSSev further reported.
The motivation behind women’ decisions to leave were “to enjoy religious freedoms and wish for better life”.
The report also examines recruitment procedures, adding that part of the recruiting scheme were imams as well and that the great recruiting network was either discovered or destroyed in 2014 and 2015 by Kosovo police actions.
The Internet and social networks are also identified as the main sources of information, radicalization and ways of recruiting, KoSSev reported.
