State Department: Total of 127 North Macedonia Citizens Joined IS

Total of 127 North Macedonia citizens joined terrorist groups in IS, 38 were killed, 69 returned, 19 remained. North Macedonia in 2020 was part of the Global Coalition to Defeat IS (Islamic State). There have been no terrorist attacks on its territory and no departure of individuals to join IS has been noted, but the main problem in the fight against terrorism in the country is the return of terrorist fighters home. This is noted in this year’s US State Department World Terrorism Report related to North Macedonia. The document was prepared by the US State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau. It says that the National Committee for Combating Violent Extremism and Terrorism has spotted 143 Macedonian citizens who have previously travelled or tried to travel to Syria and Iraq in order to enter terrorist cells. The State Department report also states that officially Skopje has close cooperation with other Balkan countries in the field of combating terrorism and violent extremism.