EUROPE-MIGRANTS/SERBIA BORDER UPDATE Up to 2,500 people trapped in no-man's land between Serbia and Croatia - UNHCR

Record ID: 136028

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/SERBIA BORDER UPDATE Up to 2,500 people trapped in no-man's land between Serbia and Croatia - UNHCR
  • Date: 19th October 2015
  • Summary: BERKASOVO, SERBIA (OCTOBER 19, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF UNHCR WORKER DISTRIBUTING BLUE RAINCOATS TO MIGRANTS ANOTHER UNHCR WORKER CLOSING DOOR AS MIGRANTS GATHER AROUND (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNHCR COORDINATOR, IRODA ASQAROVA, SAYING: "We are estimating people who are trapped here, you can see from here that they are spread all over the area. We are estimating somehow bet
  • Embargoed: 3rd November 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Croatia
  • Country: Croatia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA842ZJ57HJXJ5JBU1LBZUK3ARP
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Up to 2.500 people were trapped in a no-man's land between Serbia and Croatia in a serious humanitarian situation, UNHCR said on Monday (October 19).
    In the border region of Berkasovo and Bapska, hundreds of migrants -- drenched and shivering in the rain -- waited on the Serbian side for their turn to cross the border. Some huddled in tents or gathered by campfires, while others sought shelter in a dilapidated shack.
    "We are estimating people who are trapped here, you can see from here that they are spread all over the area. We are estimating somehow between 1,500 to 2,500 people trapped here," said UNHCR coordinator Iroda Asqarova.
    "We are distributing raincoats, we are distributing blankets, we are distributing biscuits and water. We are doing as much as we can, and the other organizations are the same. The Doctors (Without Borders) are receiving many, many medical cases," she said.
    "As you can see this is a humanitarian, seriously humanitarian situation. You can see, if you go to the crowd you will see women with children, with disabled people, they are all trapped and the border at the moment remains closed from Croatian side," Asqarova added.
    The road leading to Bapska in Croatia around 200 meters away was littered with discarded food packages, torn blankets, plastic bags and other debris.
    ? The Croatian police cordoned off its side of the border as hundreds of people congregated in a tunnel of tents leading to the cordoned area. Some walked in fields and vineyards trying to circumvent border blockade.
    Upwards of 5,000 people are flowing daily across Balkan borders further south, from Greece into Macedonia and Serbia, both former Yugoslav republics with barely the money or resources to cope.
    Hungary's right-wing government says the mainly Muslim migrants pose a threat to Europe's prosperity, security and "Christian values", and has sealed its borders with Serbia and Croatia with a steel fence and new laws that rights groups say deny refugees their right to seek protection.
    The European Union has agreed a plan, resisted by Hungary and several other ex-Communist members of the bloc, to share out 120,000 refugees among its members, a small proportion of the 700,000 migrants the International Organization for Migration (IOM) projects will reach Europe's borders from the Middle East, Africa and Asia this year.
    It is also courting Turkey with the promise of money, easier EU travel for Turks and "re-energised" accession talks if Ankara tries to stem the flow of migrants across its territory.
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