ZAGREB, 20 April 2022 - The arrival of spring and warmer days has activated migrant routes across Croatia, with the most active route in recent days being from neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, Večernji List daily said on Wednesday.
Coming mainly from the direction of Velika Kladuša or Bihać in BiH, migrants try to cross Croatia to reach Slovenia, then Austria, Germany, France and other countries in central and northern Europe.
Last year 15 migrants died while attempting to illegally cross the border, most frequently by drowning and in traffic accidents, the Interior Ministry said.
In the first three months of this year, there have been 3,433 attempts by migrants to illegally cross the border, up 5% on the year, and 188 smugglers have been arrested, up 23% on the year, the ministry said.
It is estimated that there are 2,000 migrants in camps in Velika Kladuša and Bihać as well as 5,000 in Serbia, Večernji List said, adding that in past years there were more migrants in BiH than in Serbia attempting to illegally cross the Croatian border.
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