A spokeswoman for the local police in the Una-Sana Canton in northwest Bosnia, Snezana Galic, said on Friday that a group of migrants who had arrived at the Croatian border a few days ago, had been relocated some 50 metres away from the local road in order to allow traffic to flow normally.

However, she added, the Maljevac border crossing remains closed due to security reasons.

The local law enforcement authorities have said that they have sent a request to the state level Aliens Service asking them to immediately take actions to limit the movement of foreigners in the country, hoping that migrants who arrive into Bosnia would be prevented from coming to the area in order to cross the nearby Croatian border.

Galic added that since the beginning of the year, the pressure of migrants wishing to enter the European Union has been mounting on the Una-Sana canton, which made it “impossible to keep everything under control”.

According the the canton’s police, there are about 200 migrants at the Maljevac crossing and another 400 in the nearby town of Velika Kladusa. In addition, the Red Cross reported that there are some 1,000 migrants in the town of Bihac, judging by the number of meals handed out, but added that some staying in private-run accommodation.

“We can’t ban anyone from renting out rooms, but we have to know who these people are and where they are coming from. The problem, however, is that most of these foreigners don’t have access to adequate accommodation. It’s not right to just set up a tent in front of some building or store, and the student dorm is out of the question, as it has no windows or basic utilities,” Galic said.

She added that there have more than 250 felonies on record committed by migrants, ranging in category from misdemeanour and physical fights to attempted murder, rape and theft.

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