Bosnian police block 100 migrants from reaching Croatia

SARAJEVO, BOSNIA— Bosnian border police on Monday stopped about 100 migrants from reaching the border with European Union member Croatia amid a rise in the influx of people heading through the Balkans toward Western Europe.

Police blocked the migrants near the Maljevac border crossing in northwestern Bosnia, which was briefly closed down. The group has moved toward Croatia from the nearby town of Velika Kladusa, where hundreds have been staying in makeshift camps while looking for ways to move on. Migrants have recently turned to Bosnia in order to avoid more heavily guarded routes through the Balkans. Authorities in the war-ravaged country have struggled with the influx of thousands of people from the Mideast, Africa and Asia.

Peter Van der Auweraert, from the International Organization for Migration, tweeted the attempted group crossing on Monday was a “very worrying development that risks” creating a backlash.

Van der Auweraert told The Associated Press that the migrant influx has already put pressure on Bosnia, and any incidents could further strain the situation, making Bosnians view migrants as “troublemakers” rather than people in need of help, he said.

Migrants arrive in Bosnia from Serbia or Montenegro after travelling from Greece to Albania, Bulgaria or Macedonia. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Monday that more than 5,600 migrants have reached Bosnia and Herzegovina so far this year, compared with only 754 in all of 2017.