EU-bound Migrants Scuffle With Bosnian Police Near Border

Umer Jamshaid Published October 23, 2018 | 11:53 PM

Bosnian police blocked some 250 migrants from reaching the border of EU member Croatia on Tuesday, sparking scuffles, after stopping another group from making a similar attempt.

Maljevac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Oct, 2018 ) :Bosnian police blocked some 250 migrants from reaching the border of EU member Croatia on Tuesday, sparking scuffles, after stopping another group from making a similar attempt.

"They tried to cross by force. The police turned them down. There was a scuffle," police spokeswoman Snezana Galic told AFP of the confrontation near the Maljevac border post, where around 100 police were deployed.

No injuries were reported.

She said police officers were trying to negotiate the group's return to Bihac, a northwestern Bosnian town where several thousand migrants have camped for months.

Many hope to enter Croatia and make repeated attempts.

Earlier in the day, another group of around 100 migrants, including families and children, were returned by buses to Bihac after spending the night on the roadside near Izacic, another border crossing.

They had been stopped by police from marching further.

Bosnia was previously shunned by migrants trying to reach Western Europe but it has seen an influx since the start of the year.

Police estimate there are several thousand migrants in the Bihac area but Bosnian authorities have not yet set up a formal reception centre there.