Report: 400 ethnic Albanians fighting in Syria

TIRANA, May 3 – About 400 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia and the Preshevo Valley in southern Serbia are fighting along the ranks of the rebels in the civil war in Syria, with 28 killed so far, according to a report from the Presheva Jone news agency.
They are part of thousands of foreigners who have joined the rebels in Syria.
Most of these ethnic Albanian fighters come from Kosovo, to be followed by Albania, Macedonia and the Preshevo Valley. There have been 13 dead from Kosovo, 6 from Albania, 8 from Macedonia and one from Preshevo, according to the report.
The figures have been collected from different sources, but there has been no official confirmation on them.
In the last two months, Albanian police have arrested eight people accused of allegedly recruiting men to enlist with Muslim rebel groups fighting in Syria. These charges could lead to 10 years behind bars.
Authorities are also investigating the financial resources for building two mosques in the capital that have been considered to be the center of such a recruitment.
About half of Albania’s 2.8 million residents self-declared as Muslim in the 2011 census. The country’s religious leaders have appealed to believers not to join rebel groups in Syria.