Bosnian security minister Fahrudin Radoncic has claimed that as many as 100,000 migrants could be heading from Greece to Western Europe in the coming weeks.
Radonic stated that the Bosnian border would be unable to handle a wave of migrants stating, “Our border is very permeable. We don’t have enough [guards] or material resources.”
The Bosnian minister went on to add that the situation in the migrant camps within Bosnia is becoming worse by the day as the already overcrowded camps receive even more migrants, Austrian tabloid Kronen Zeitung reports.
“We are missing at least 1,200 border guards. In practice, it currently looks like a police officer has to monitor 25 kilometres of the border. That is impossible!” he said.
The Vucjak migrant camp, located near the Croatian border, was slammed by various groups for its harsh conditions and was cleared in December when the Bosnian government transferred the migrants to another area near Sarajevo.
Prior to the evacuation of the camp, NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) labelled the camp a “dangerous and inhumane place”.
Peter Ven der Auweraert, a regional coordinator for International Organization for Migration (IOM), also made similar predictions to Minister Radonic in December, stating that when the weather in the area improves, “some people will start moving”.
“The reality is, as you know, that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a pure transit country,” he said.
In Greece, where most of the migrants that travel the Balkan route first enter Europe, the government also forecast a surge in new arrivals.
Manos Logothetis, the government commissioner for the initial reception of refugees, predicted that Greece could see as many as 100,000 new migrants in 2020.
Other areas of the Balkan route have also seen increased activity, such as the border between Serbia and Hungary where, in January alone, 3,400 migrants have made attempts to cross the fortified border fence.
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