A group of activists from Switzerland visited western Bosnia in late December to provide assistance to thousands of refugees and migrants trying to enter the EU-member state Croatia from there. The conditions they live in in Bosnia are far from good, says activist Stefan Dietrich.
Many migrants are stuck along the Bosnian-Croatian border, as Croatian border police keep pushing them back into Bosnia. There are now reports that they have suffered instances of violence and theft by those authorities.
A Croatian NGO working with migrants has filed a complaint against police who it claims used excessive force and violence against migrants, illegally pushing them back at the border with Bosnia.
Human Rights Watch has denounced that migrants in Croatia are pushed back to Bosnia by police officers who don't give them the possibility of applying for asylum.
The Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner demanded an investigation after reports of violence against migrants arose. The country's interior minister, however, says no such abuse exists.
Twenty-two Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have submitted a request for a parliamentary interrogation on migrants' living conditions in Croatia after reports from the media and NGOs.
Several hundred migrants remain in the Calais area in the north of France, risking daily police violence as they try to reach the UK. A report sheds light on the squalid living conditions in makeshift shelters there.
The UNHCR reports that thousands of migrants have been pushed back from Croatia this year or denied the possibility of requesting asylum in the country, an accusation that the Croatian government has rejected.
International aid organizations have reported that Croatian police are using violence to push refugees back into neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina. Croatian authorities deny the accusations.
Two young migrants have died after raids against irregular migrants in northern Morocco, according to a Spanish NGO. One of the migrants was only 16 years old.
Some migrants in Bosnia claim they have been beaten by Croatian police while trying to cross the Bosnian border into the EU. The International Organization for Migration cannot verify these allegations, it does, however, confirm it has heard these stories as well.
The Red Cross said it has received information of cases of Croatian police violence against migrants, and it is calling on governments to "guarantee dignity and respect" to all people.