Bosnia and Herzegovina Security Minister: There are 2,000 illegal migrants here, all others have gone to Croatia

Bosnia and Herzegovina Security Minister Dragan Mektić reiterated on Tuesday that the majority of the approximately eleven thousand illegal migrants who entered his country since the beginning of the year have already left the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina and continued their journey to Croatia and other European Union countries.

He stated at a press conference held in Banja Luka that currently only about two thousand illegal migrants are residing in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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“There are about 700 of these people in Bihać, the same number in Velika Kladuša, around 200 in the ‘Sedra’ hotel (near Cazin), and maybe a few more in other places, and that is all,” said Mektić.

According to this calculation, at least nine thousand migrants have managed to continue their journey to Croatia so far, although data from the Croatian Ministry of the Interior suggests that this number is much lower.

No migrants are interested in staying in Bosnia and Herzegovina

When asked how he comments on such discrepancies in estimates, Minister Mektić said on Tuesday that there are only two possible answers: either the Croatian police did not detect all those illegal migrants after crossing the border or they simply did not register them.

He is categorical in his assertion that those thousands of migrants are definitely not in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as they would have to be seen somewhere. “Where are those other people?” Mektić asked, adding that it is clear to everyone that no migrants are interested in staying in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that police agencies in that country have precise data on the number of “illegals” who have entered the country.

Croatian Interior Minister Davor Božinović dismissed on Monday statements from Bosnia and Herzegovina that eight thousand migrants, of whom there are fewer in Bosnia and Herzegovina, are in Croatia, asserting that the number of illegal crossings of the entire border, including that with Serbia, totals 3,200 persons this year.

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We are recording a 26 percent increase in the number of illegal crossings, with a significant portion still at the border with Serbia, Božinović said, adding that the Croatian police are doing their job in accordance with the law and Schengen rules, all aimed at strengthening public order, peace, security, and protecting the order for all citizens and guests of the Republic of Croatia.

When asked by journalists how he comments on the fact that citizens often see refugees in the area of Drežnica, Božinović said that the police stop migrants at the border and that there are several ‘rings’ monitoring and apprehending potential smugglers related to illegal migrants. Božinović added that this year the number of prosecuted smugglers has increased by more than 70 percent.