Bosnia-Herzegovina has begun to move migrants from an informal camp near the country's northern border with Croatia. The site in Vucjak fell into international disrepute for its squalid living conditions.
Two Nigerian students, who were in Croatia for a sports competition and had visas, say they were wrongly deported to Bosnia. Croatian police likely suspected them of being illegal migrants based only on their skin color.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) have warned that the conditions of migrants stuck on the border in Bosnia are worsening by the day. The organization says migrants there are forced to live in inhumane conditions and that they are reportedly subjected to violence by Croatian police when they try to cross the border.
Croatian police on Friday fired on a group of migrants trying to irregularly reach neighboring Slovenia, local officials said. One man was critically injured. Thousands of migrants trying to reach western Europe are stuck in the Balkans.
As more and more refugees and migrants try to make it to Western Europe via the western Balkan route, and with winter approaching, the EU and NGOs have warned of a humanitarian crisis in the Vucjak migrant camp and similar facilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina near the border with Croatia. On Friday, hundreds of locals protested against the migrants' presence.
The organisation Human Rights Watch does not want Croatia to be allowed to join the Schengen area because of alleged abuses against migrants committed by Croatian authorities.
Asurma Arab fled Afghanistan to seek safety in Europe with her family. Over two years later she remains stranded in Serbia, her family torn apart. On the last attempt to cross the border, her husband and oldest daughter managed to get past Croatian guards, leaving Asurma and three younger children behind.
In the Vucjak migrant camp in Bosnia, over 800 people remain without running water, electricity or functioning toilets. Local authorities have announced that two other official camps will soon close, leaving more than 2,000 additional people sleeping outside. With winter approaching, many fear a humanitarian catastrophe.
A Croatian migrant rights group has placed a sign saying ''Welcome to Croatia - Country of torture'' at the border between Croatia and Bosnia to protest against reported cases of violence against migrants at the hands of the authorities. The protest is also directed against Croatia joining the Schengen zone.
Authorities in Slovenia, Italy, Bosnia and Croatia have dismantled an organization that allegedly smuggled migrants from the Balkans to EU countries like Italy.
A group of NGOs in Italy and the Balkans have denounced that migrants along the Balkan migrant route continue to be illegally expelled from one state to the next. The Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe meanwhile has warned of a "humanitarian emergency" due to squalid conditions at the Vucjak migrant camp in Bosnia.
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.