BOSNIA:Bosnia has begun deporting hundreds of foreign "Mujahideen" fighters to whom it gave citizenship as a reward for their volunteering to fight in the country's 1992-5 war.
The United States has put increasing pressure on Bosnia to revoke the passports of many Muslim men who arrived during the war from the Middle East and North Africa, whom Washington says are a security risk with possible links to extremist groups.
Atau Mimun (37), originally from Algeria, was the first to be expelled this week, and about 500 others are expected to follow him out of a country that seeks European Union membership but is seen as a weak security link on the bloc's southern fringe. Bosnia gave passports to about 1,300 foreigners after they fought in a war that pitted Muslims against Serbs and Croats.
"It was established that this person jeopardised national security," Bosnian state security official Dragan Mektic said of Mr Mimun. "We believe he is linked with people who have been under surveillance in connection with terrorist activities," he told the Nezavisne Novine newspaper.
Bosnia has come under suspicion in recent years as a potential base for terror cells and organisations that raise and launder money for groups linked to al-Qaeda. Earlier this year, two Bosnians, a Swede and a Turkish man were convicted of travelling to Bosnia to prepare a terrorist attack against a European target, with the intention of forcing western troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan. A fifth man was jailed last year after admitting involvement in the plot.
Six Algerians with Bosnian residency were arrested in Bosnia in late 2001, on suspicion of planning attacks on the country's US and British embassies. They have been held in the US-run Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba since early in 2002.
