ZAGREB, August 1, 2018 – About 6,000 illegal migrants have entered Croatia from Bosnia and Herzegovina since the end of last year, the head of BiH’s service for aliens Slobodan Ujić, said on Tuesday.
Of the 9,730 illegal migrants registered, about 60% have left BiH across the Croatian border, he told the Bosnian Serb news agency Srna. “Until today, 9,730 illegal migrants have entered BiH, of whom 7,958 have stated their intention to ask for international protection and not one of about 700 asylum requests has been approved,” Ujić said.
About 3,200 were Pakistani illegal migrants who were not refugees, and 1,590 were Syrian refugees and displaced persons, he added.
About 1,200 Iranians have entered BiH in recent months after Serbia waived visa requirements for them, Ujić said, adding that, upon arriving in Belgrade from Tehran, they discarded their IDs and tried to illegally enter BiH and continue towards Europe.
“People are still trying to get to the EU and the biggest pressure is in Una-Sana Canton,” Ujić said, adding that BiH could not be a migrant hot spot. “BiH needs a fast flow of people towards the EU but it shouldn’t build accommodation facilities, which financially it can’t do anyway.”
