"Croatian police cross the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina on a daily basis, bringing back migrants who had been caught illegally entering Croatia, and Bosnian government must do something about this," the mayor of the northwestern Bosnian city of Bihac, Suhret Fazlic, said on Wednesday in a town council meeting.

“If anyone has a solution for the migrant situation in Bihac, let him come forth, but let’s not have a situation where Croatian police enters Bosnia every day, bringing with them 30, 40, 100 migrants, bringing them back to Bosnia outside official border crossings,” Fazlic said, speaking about the migrant situation.

Two towns in the northwest part of the country, Velika Kladusa and Bihac, have been particularly hit with the influx of people, largely because they are closest to the narrowest part of Croatia’s territory lying beyond the border. Migrants coming into the area hope to cross into Croatia and reach Slovenia to Croatia’s west, which is the closest EU country which is also part of the EU’s passport-free travel Schengen area.

“As a Bosnian, it insults me when someone from another country can enter Bosnia and do what they want in it. Every day, Croatian police enter Bosnia and either return some migrants or bring new migrants (that they had caught on the border) into our city, and the government must do something about this,” Fazlic said.

Last year, some 25,000 migrants entered Bosnia in the hopes of reaching western Europe, and around 10,000 of them are currently housed in migrant centres across the country, with most located in the area around Bihac. With so many migrants located in the area, local authorities say they are finding it increasingly difficult to control the influx of people and keep crime rates low.

“We are officially treating the migrant crisis as if it is a natural disaster. I support any solution to the problem – except violence, persecution, deportations, or hurdling them onto buses and trains,” he said.“I will never support anything that even slightly resembles racism, hatred, xenophobia, or any inhumane treatment of migrants.”

Fazlic added he was ready to hand in his resignation should Bihac ever become a city of intolerance.

“I don’t want to live in a city that would be known for forcing people onto buses and trains against their will. If anyone has a solution, please come forth and say it,” Fazlic said.

Bihac city council decided to call on Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency to hold a session on the migrant situation in Bihac, and also invited its three members to visit the migrant centres in this town.

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