Bosnia-Herzegovina Croatian police attack migrants - 14 injured in accident

In Croatia, 14 suspected irregular migrants have been injured while fleeing from the police. The van in which they were being transported westwards crashed into an electricity pylon on a country road near the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Croatian media reported this with reference to the police. Shortly beforehand, the police had taken up the pursuit of this vehicle with Swiss license plates. Its driver had not heeded the officers' requests to stop and instead accelerated even more. The victims, some of whom were seriously injured, including seven children, were taken to hospital. The authorities are continuing their investigation.

One of the so-called Balkan routes for migrants, who mainly come from Syria and Afghanistan and are heading towards Western Europe, runs through Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.

According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, there were almost 2,000 refugees and migrants in asylum shelters in Bosnia at the end of July. According to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), their number fell by 75 percent in the first seven months of this year. It was around 12,400 on this route alone.

Overall, migrant routes have shifted significantly during this period: 64 percent fewer came to Europe via the Mediterranean. In contrast, the number of those arriving from Russia via the eastern land border increased by 195 percent. On the West Africa route via the Canary Islands, the increase was 154 percent, Frontex added.