The photo above was featured in a Reuters report on Syrian migrants travelling between Serbia and Croatia in an attempt to obtain refugee status in Europe. Croatia’s police said Serbian nationals were not let into Croatia because of “a problem” with the border information site. The Bulgarian Embassy advises Bulgarian citizens to use alternative routes, avoiding the Serbian-Croatian border.The Bulgarian citizens may obtain more information about the current state and situation on the roads and at the border checkpoints on the official website of the Automobile Union of Serbia. Croatia says it can not cope with the sheer numbers, saying Serbia should send them to Hungary and to Romania too.
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A trade war erupted between Serbia and Croatia on Thursday over the flow of migrants across their border, dragging relations between the ex-Yugoslav republics to their lowest ebb since the overthrow of late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.
Croatia has been overwhelmed a by refugees making their way from the conflict torn Middle East and Africa through the Balkans on their way to richer countries in the EU.
Nebojsa Stefanovic, Serbia’s Interior Minister, said that no trucks with Croatian license plates or the vehicles carrying Croatian goods could enter Serbia.
Serbian passport holders were also being turned back at the border, Reuters witnesses said.
Croatia and Serbia on Thursday escalated a border dispute triggered by Europe’s migrant risis, with each side further restricting cross-frontier traffic. “I think it is perfectly clear that what we are seeing is organised transport of migrants directly to Croatia (from Serbia)”, his interior minister, Ranko Ostojic, told RTL television.
“To economic measures we can respond with economic measures but to madness you cannot respond”, Vucic said. But he conceded that “by itself, the decision we took today is not going to solve the refugee crisis“.
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“To be clear, there will be no violence or war… but this is not normal behaviour”, Milanovic said. It earlier reported that cars and buses were allowed through, while trucks were still waiting.
