Migrants spend less time on Balkan route + video

Research shows that illegal immigrants stay in Bosnia for less than two weeks. The pressure on the Serbia-Hungary border is not easing.

Migrants are present not only in Serbia, but throughout the Balkans, causing concern in the former Yugoslav republics. Unauthorized immigrants now appear way more impatient than before and, according to local media reports, they stay in any given country for much shorter periods than in previous years. Their goal is to enter the territory of the European Union as soon as possible and then continue their journey to Western states. This is also the case in Bosnia.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) found that although there are more migrants arriving in the Balkans compared to 2021, their number is not any higher in Bosnia. This is because they spend less time in the country and are likely to cross the border more easily and swiftly.

Migrants are not 'stuck' either in Bosnia and Herzegovina or in other countries of the Western Balkans in general. They tend to transit quite quickly on their way to Western Europe

 the organization points out.

This is evidenced by IOM research conducted in August, which shows that migrants hardly ever spend two full weeks in Bosnia, as they tend to move on within a much shorter time frame. 

The survey found that most migrants using this Balkan route, 67 percent, come from Afghanistan , followed by Moroccans and Pakistani nationals with 17 and 4.6 percent, respectively.

So migrants are no longer stranded in the Western Balkan states, but are doing everything they can to enter the Schengen area as soon as possible. Croatia's accession to Schengen has opened up a new perspective, offering human smugglers and criminal gangs a lucrative business. They charge thousands of euros for a crossing attempt, local residents say.

Migration pressure has not eased in Serbia, either.

A state of war should be declared and the military sent into the woods!

Desperate people post such and similar comments on social media. Illegal immigrants have completely flooded some settlements in the northern part of Vojvodina. Local residents live in fear and do not go near the woods along the border fence.

Makove sedmice forest near Subotica (Photo: Magyar Nemzet)

But it is not only the forest that has been overrun by illegal immigrants. In the immediate vicinity of the wooded area, there are densely populated streets with many families with children living there. In the past, most children used to travel to school by public transport, but this has become less common. Due to increased traffic and the presence of migrants, parents now prefer to drive their children to school. Although, unlike in previous years, migrants marching on foot on the road towards the Makove sedmice forest are rarely seen, bus stops and taxis on their way to the border are packed with illegal immigrants, mostly men.

Earlier this week, locals saw a large group of migrants marching on the street right next to the forest.  They said that at least twenty people were on their way to reach the border fence and then head towards the European Union. However, this is not an easy task for them, as the Hungarian border hunters do everything they can to halt them. They also have to get through areas controlled by criminal gangs on Serbia's side. The people smugglers are armed to the teeth and they frequently clash using rifles and other weapons. Local residents say they can hear machine guns fired day after day, night after night.

When people in Subotica go to bed, they listen to find out from which direction the gunfire will be heard, local residents told Magyar Nemzet. Some people are filled with so much fear that when they hear the slightest noise, they immediately assume that it is another shooting or a blast. Unfortunately, most of the time it turns out that migrants fired shots or a hand grenade exploded.

In the above amateur footage taken a few months ago, you can see and hear migrants firing rounds of shots in the forest near Subotica. The woman recording the video says that

she can hear bullets flying not far from her as she watches from behind bales of straw.

Migrants in central Subotica this summer (Photo: Magyar Nemzet)

Migrants can be seen not only in the forest, but also in downtown Subotica. Over the weekend, two illegal migrants got into a fight on a pedestrian street. Passers-by alerted the police to the scene to subdue the fighting migrants. No injuries were reported this time.

Cover photo: Forest near Subotica (Photo: Magyar Nemzet)