Terror groups ‘recruiting from refugee camps’

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Terror groups ‘recruiting from refugee camps’ Terrorists are targeting refugees camps to bolster their numbers and find new recruits to their cause, a security expert has said. Naureen Fink, head of research at the Global Centre on Cooperative Security in New York, said some refugees who fled their jobs and homes “easily fall prey to terrorist ideologies”. She was speaking at the Countering Violent Extremism Conference in Abu Dhabi. The conference was organised by Hedayah, the Abu Dhabi-based centre dedicated to countering violent extremism. Fink said: “Of late we have been hearing about many instances of refugee recruitment, there are a lot of examples coming out where refugees easily fall prey to terrorist ideologies. RELATED: ISIL waging ‘professional’ campaign “In the light of these incidents, there is a huge call to research and determine what scale and why this happens, only then will we be able to restrict it. Refugees flee their countries and start a new life with no jobs or background, hence the state of mind of a few could possibly be an easy target for Islamist radicals to recruit.” Last week German intelligence said refugees searching for Arabic-language mosques are ending up at those attended by extremists. Officials had seen more than 100 cases in which extremists known to them have tried to establish contact with refugees, often offering food, shelter and translation help. “With the number of incidents and back stories coming to light now, especially in the past two weeks, there is a huge call for research into this issue,” said Fink.   mahak@7days.ae Read the original story at: Terror groups ‘recruiting from refugee camps’