Migrants stranded in Serbia march towards Croatian border

Record ID: 79447

  • Title: Migrants stranded in Serbia march towards Croatian border
  • Date: 11th November 2016
  • Summary: BELGRADE, SERBIA (NOVEMBER 11, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS PROTESTING IN FRONT OF WAREHOUSE CARRYING BANNERS READING (English and Arabic): "NO FENCES, NO PRISON", "RIGHT TO TRAVEL" MIGRANTS HOLDING BANNER READING (English and Arabic): "NO FENCES, NO PRISONS" VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS WALKING WITH BANNERS VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS MARCHING MIGRANTS ENTERING PARK NEAR MAIN BUS STATION MIGRANTS CROSSING STREET CARRYING BANNERS MIGRANTS CHANTING (English) "OPEN BORDER" UNDER BANNER READING (English): "PLEASE OPEN THE BORDER" MIGRANTS WALKING MIGRANTS WALKING NEAR BRIDGE VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS WALKING ON HIGHWAY TO ZAGREB ESCORTED BY POLICE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MIGRANT FROM AFGHANISTAN, AHMED ASRSAD, SAYING: "The weather is very cool to all the people, we are sleeping in the park, because all the people cannot go to the camp, all of closed camps." MIGRANTS TAKING PHOTOS WITH MOBILE PHONES (SOUNDBITE) (English) MIGRANT FROM AFGHANISTAN, MUHAMMED, SAYING: "Every person was here 3 months, 4 months, 6 months, at the car parking, there are no one place else to live here, they just want to open the border and we go and leave here, Serbia, and go to other places." VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS WALKING ON HIGHWAY ESCORTED BY POLICE
  • Embargoed: 26th November 2016 16:16
  • Keywords: migrants influx border march Serbia
  • Location: BELGRADE, SERBIA
  • City: BELGRADE, SERBIA
  • Country: Serbia
  • Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0015803TJB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Some 150 migrants, trapped in Serbia, set out on Friday (November 11) to walk about 125 km. (80 miles) to the Croatian border, demanding free and secure passage towards Western Europe, police said.
    Police are following the group along the highway connecting Belgrade and the border.
    "The weather is very cool to all the people, we are sleeping in the park, because all the people cannot go to the camp, all of closed camps," said a migrant from Afghanistan who gave his name as Ahmed.
    According to the U.N. refugee agency, around 6,400 migrants from countries such as Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan are currently registered in Serbia, while local non-governmental organisations say their number is close to 10,000. They mostly arrive from Bulgaria and Macedonia.
    Last month another group tried a similar protest march towards the Hungarian border, but eventually decided to return to Belgrade. Hungary has practically sealed its borders to migrants.
    Muhammed, also from Afghanistan, said they just wanted to leave the country.
    "Every person was here 3 months, 6 months, at the car parking, there are no one place else to live here, they just want to open the border and we go and leave here, Serbia, and go to other places."
    Last year, a total of 579,518 migrants and asylum seekers were registered arriving in Serbia, out of more than a million who made it to Europe by land and sea.
    A deal between Turkey and the European Union, struck in March, has largely shut off the flow of people reaching Greece and the Balkans, but Austria kicked off consultations with Balkan states this month to see what measures can be taken if the deal collapses.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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