A group of foreign activists was reportedly ordered to leave the Vucjak refugee camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They claim the state has cut migrants' access to healthcare but authorities reject the accusations.
The Serbian Commissariat for Refugees and Migration confirmed that it has numerous reports of Croatian border police resorting to violence against migrants who enter the country illegally. In one case, an underage Afghan migrant even reported being "tortured by the police" with electric shocks. Croatian authorities meanwhile reject the charges.
According to UNHCR statistics, more than 40% of almost 3,000 migrants and refugees in Serbia come from Afghanistan. Most of them hope to enter Hungary or Croatia to get into the EU, However, with Hungary's border closed down and the Croatian border being closely monitored, leaving Serbia is proving to be a difficult task.
Police in North Macedonia have reportedly detained 81 migrants found in a truck near the country's border with Serbia. The driver of the vehicle had apparently ignored a police warning to stop for a check. He later abandoned the vehicle.
The small town of Bihac near Bosnia's border with Croatia is facing a growing migrant influx. The Red Cross says that the central government isn't doing enough.
A Serbian NGO has accused Croatian border police of inflicting "physical and psychological torture" on an Afghan minor last month. Croatia's interior ministry dismissed the allegations as "unfounded and incomprehensible." In the past, international organizations and NGOs have repeatedly criticized Croatia of using excessive force as migrants try to enter the EU member state from Serbia.
The issue of migrants was at the center of a meeting between the presidents of Croatia, Slovenia and Austria. Croatia said that it has been successfully protecting EU borders, but did not address reports of police abuse of migrants.
The number of migrants in Serbian reception centers has fallen significantly. Meanwhile, authorities throughout the Balkans are continuing operations to arrest traffickers.
The Bosnian government said 21,000 migrants have entered the country since the beginning of the year. The authorities said all of the country's reception centers are full, and they denounced the growing problems of lack of food and medicine.
One person died in Croatia after a van carrying 12 migrants plunged into a river. The driver of the van that was registered in Germany fled the scene, leaving the vehicle to sink into the river. Separately, police in North Macedonia discovered 30 migrants in an abandoned truck.
Eighteen migrants were injured while trying to reach the European Union across Bosnia's border with Croatia, local media and police said on Wednesday. The case has been put under the jurisdiction of the state prosecutor.
Over the past year, many migrants trying to cross into the EU through unofficial border crossings between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have reported brutal treatment by Croatian border police. In a recent TV interview, the Croatian president admitted border guards were forcing migrants back over the border. InfoMigrants takes a look at the situation.