Gunshots, taxi drivers carrying migrants – situation report from the Serbia-Hungary border + videos

The sound of gunfire almost an everyday occurrence in border towns. There is a constant police presence due to migrants.

20221104 szerbia migransok havran zoltan magyar nemzet Fotó: Havran Zoltán

Two opposing migrant groups of clashed in the forest near Subotica early last July. The Afghan and Pakistani gangs fired shots at each other during the conflict. The sound of gunfire was heard by nearby residents, who alerted the authorities. Special units of the police and gendarmerie cordoned off the forest for hours, while ambulances transported those injured to the local hospital. One person died and six others were injured, all of them from gunshots, the authorities reported. Doctors were fighting for the life of a 17-year-old girl for hours; her condition was finally stabilized. According to local reports, the shootout claimed a lot more victims, but this has not been confirmed by the authorities.

Constant gunfire

There have been frequent incidents involving guns ever since. Locals can often hear the rattling of machine guns in the evening and early morning. 

The noise from the forest can sometimes be heard not just for a few minutes, but for up to half an hour.

After a serious incident, large numbers of police officers and gendarmes are deployed to the forest to remove migrants in prisoner transport vans. Those who are not detained are taken to reception centers that they are allowed to leave freely. It comes as little surprise that they are back in the forest in less than an hour, meaning that the authorities can only temporarily restore order.

Last July, the police officers on the scene said that they had secured the area, so the lives of the locals were not in danger. But the people of Makkhetes part of the town were not reassured by this statement. 

The shooting went on for more than an hour. I thought they were practicing at the shooting range. How can we be free here when we have to drop off and pick up children from school? We're scared, and they say the residents are safe. We are not safe at all.

a distraught woman complained to the local press.

According to a statement issued by the Serbian Interior Ministry at the time, several illegal immigrants had been detained. One of them turned out to be an internationally wanted terrorist. Although the authorities removed the migrants from the forest after the shooting and transported them to reception centers, a similar incident took place shortly afterwards. Hostile gangs also fired rounds at each other in the Makkhetes forest, in the immediate vicinity of residential buildings and the Hungarian border. One of the injured people was pulled out by his companions into the residential area, where the locals called the ambulance. The man was taken to hospital.

In the autumn, armed migrant gangs clashed in Horgos, also near the border. Videos of the incident were also published by Magyar Nemzet.

The video, taken in the center of the village, shows migrants fleeing while shots are fired. Another recording shows hooded men toting machine guns marching in the residential area of Horgos.

 

By taxi to the border

Earlier, migrants used to reach the border fence mainly on foot or using local buses. Today, the majority travel by taxi. They have no problem with the fact that the trip of a few kilometers is well overcharged by the taxi drivers. The police checks also leave both the migrants and the taxi drivers unruffled.

Amateur videos obtained by Magyar Nemzet show as illegal immigrants get into taxis in broad daylight, in the center of the town, near a church and a playground.

The parking lot of a German retail chain is also a favorite starting point for migrants heading for the forest: they shop for groceries, then get a lift and head for the fence.

In the last few days, police in Subotica and neighboring Palic have detained 403 migrants. All of them were transferred to the reception center. Only one person was arrested, a 59-year-old man from Pristina, suspected of human trafficking. Six undocumented persons were found in his apartment. According to a statement from the police in Subotica, the authorities will continue to regularly monitor the movement and whereabouts of migrants in order to ensure the safety of locals.

In recent weeks, checkpoints have also been set up on routes frequently used by migrants, such as grass-covered roads leading to the forest. At these checkpoints, the officers control passing traffic, especially taxis. District chief Bojan Soralov says the measure is effective and gives cause for optimism. In a Facebook post early July, he wrote:

The preventive work and the checkpoints are yielding positive results. Residents said that they feel safer. Their concerns, however, are well founded. We are still not satisfied with the attitude of some taxi drivers, but there has been a positive change in this respect too.

Meanwhile, the Serbian government has adopted a response plan, that was necessitated by the "increased number of migrants.” According to the document, the country will prioritize putting an end to people smuggling and illegal migration, and will step up border controls, while providing protection to those who have formally applied for asylum.

Cover photo: migrant camp at Horgos, Serbia (Photo: Zoltan Havran)