ZAGREB, October 30, 2018 – Bosnian police on Tuesday afternoon started transferring by bus 150 to 200 migrants who were 200 metres from the Maljevac-Velika Kladuša international border crossing, the Croatian Interior Ministry said.
Since the border crossing was closed to all traffic for security reasons and movement was temporarily restricted on October 24, Croatian police have been monitoring the situation, the ministry said in a statement.
Allowing movement again will include the removal of barriers and bringing online of all information systems which the border police use to control the flow of people and goods. The Croatian police currently deployed near the border crossing will stay there until further notice, the ministry said.
On October 22, a group of 200-250 migrants tried to cross the border into Croatia but were stopped by Bosnian police. Migrants threw stones and other objects at Croatian police, lightly injuring two officers who sought medical attention. This was the third attempt by migrants staying in Velika Kladuša, Bosnia and Herzegovina to walk across the border into Croatia, but police stopped them every time.
The Maljevac border crossing was reopened to traffic at 6 pm on Tuesday, the Croatian Ministry of the Interior said, noting that the crossing on the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina was reopened after Bosnian police started relocating around 200 migrants who had been staying some 200 metres from the Maljevac-Velika Kladuša border crossing.
The border crossing was closed to all traffic for security reasons and movement was temporarily restricted on October 24.
The migrants protested demanding they should be allowed to enter Croatia and move further to western Europe. The situation has again drawn attention to the migrant issue in the region.
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