Bosnia-Herzegovina: Croatian police attack migrants – 14 injured in accident

In Croatia, 14 suspected illegal migrants were injured while fleeing from the police. The van in which they were being transported westward crashed into a power pole on a country road near the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Croatian media reported this, citing the police. Shortly before, the police had started pursuing this vehicle with Swiss license plates. Its driver had ignored the officers' request to stop and instead accelerated even more. The victims, some of whom were seriously injured, including seven children, were taken to hospital. The authorities are continuing their investigation.

One of the so-called Balkan routes for migrants, mainly from Syria and Afghanistan, heading towards Western Europe, runs through Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.

According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, there were almost 2,000 refugees and migrants in asylum accommodation in Bosnia at the end of July. According to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), their number fell by 75 percent in the first seven months of this year. There were around 12,400 on this route alone.

Overall, the migrant routes have shifted significantly during this period: 64 percent fewer people came to Europe via the Mediterranean. In contrast, the number of those arriving from Russia via the eastern land border increased by 195 percent. On the West African route via the Canary Islands, the increase was 154 percent, Frontex added.

SDA