'Nikšić will be Srebrenica', hate messages on mosque

Graffiti reading “Srebrenica” and “Turks” appeared on the facade and inside the Hadži Ismail Mosque in Nikšić, said imam Džemo Redžematović from the Islamic Community of Montenegro.

“These hate messages against Muslims have, in a short time, starting from Pljevlja and Berane, now reached Nikšić. These messages have truly frightened the population in Nikšić,” Redžematović said.

In the photographs, a sign reading "Nikšić will be Srebrenica" and a cross with four firesteels can also be seen on the fence.

This is the latest in a series of ethnically motivated incidents that have occurred in Nikšić, a city where local elections will be held on March 14. These are the first elections in Montenegro after the government changed at the state level on August 30 last year, following three decades.

The local government in Nikšić is held by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), which is in opposition in the state parliament, where the majority is held by coalitions led by the Democratic Front (DF), the Democrats, and the civic movement URA.