Recent reports on the number of migrants found and incidents in Balkan countries suggest there has been a surge in migrants transiting the so called Balkan route despite the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, reports the Italian news agency ANSA.
The analysis adds that although numbers remain well below the exceptional levels seen in 2015, migration from Turkey and Greece through the Balkans towards Western Europe has picked up once more, despite the fact that countries on the Balkan route officially ‘sealed’ their borders in recent years.
“During the night between August 4 and August 5, on the border between Serbia and Hungary, a group of about 100 migrants attempted to cross the border into Hungarian territory. Incidents ensued, including the throwing of stones at the Hungarian police, who managed to push back the attempt. Dozens of undocumented migrants are reportedly arrested daily along the border between Croatia and Slovenia,” the news agency reports.
Migrants who have crossed the border between Slovenia and Italy irregularly are often handed back by Italian police to the Slovenian authorities.
According to ANSA, thousands of migrants have reportedly arrived in Bihac and Velika Kladusa in Bosnia in recent weeks. The two areas in the far northwestern part of Bosnia-Herzegovina on the border with Croatia are considered a sort of terminal for crossing into EU territory.
