South Asian migrants stuck in Bosnian camps have accused Croatian police of badly beating people caught trying cross the border into the EU. Human rights groups are calling for an investigation of the abuse allegations.
A series of brutal pushbacks took place on the Bosnian-Croatian border last week, including a case of sexual assault, according to the Danish Refugee Council. Dozens of asylum seekers were allegedly victimized.
The UN migration agency IOM has begun what has become an annual distribution of aid to migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina to help them survive the cold winter temperatures.
Two people died and nearly 20 others were injured Wednesday in a clash among migrants in northwestern Bosnia. The violence happened in the town of Bihac, where authorities evicted hundreds of people from a migrant center.
Bosnian police emptied a migrant camp, evicting hundreds of residents in the latest crackdown on such facilities. They have been moved to a remote camp ill-equipped for winter conditions.
With increased violence against migrants in Bosnia, the IOM warns that the Balkan nation only has weeks left to find solutions to the migrant situation, as thousands of asylum seekers remain on the streets ahead of the harsh winter months.
Croatia claims to have stopped just over 16,000 attempts by migrants without visas to cross the border with Bosnia since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, Bosnia says it has halted close to 9,000 illegal migrant entrances so far this year.
Operations have begun to close the migrant hosting center of Bira in Bihac, in north-western Bosnia, near the border with Croatia.
The documentary film "No Borders. Stream of Conscience" by Italian director Mauto Caputo tells the story of migrants on the Balkan Route. Caputo spent a year and a half filming in the Karst Plateau region, along the border between Italy and Slovenia. He recently spoke to ANSA about the experience.
Tension is rising in northwestern Bosnia where authorities have launched a crackdown on thousands of migrants. The UN migration agency has warned that the crackdown is fueling a "volatile situation."
Authorities in northeastern Bosnia have deployed police officers along a main transit highway to prevent migrants from entering their territory. The migrants are finding themselves trapped as neighboring regions are blocking them from walking back too.
Serbia is reportedly constructing a barbed-wire fence at its border with North Macedonia. Authorities in Belgrade have not yet commented on the issue.