Discontentment among migrants may culminate in a crisis and they could all start heading towards the border with Croatia, said Anel Ramic, Interior Minister of the Una-Sana Canton, Bosnia's westernmost region bordering Croatia.

According to Ramic, the migrants who are currently staying in this region “may become aggressive towards the locals” if they are prevented from crossing Croatia's border.

“I fear for the safety of citizens and police officers,” he added.

The situation with migrants in the Una-Sana Canton escalated for a few hours on Monday after a group of migrants came to the Bosnia-Croatia border, near the north-western town of Velika Kladusa, in an attempt to enter Croatia. A number of police officers on both sides of the border prevented them from doing that.

Minister Ramic said he talked to Bosnia's Security Minister Dragan Mektic about the most recent developments and insisted on the increase of control on Bosnia's eastern borders. He also insisted on a broader meeting of law enforcement agencies and relocation of migrants in immigration centres.

“He gave no answer to the question I asked, regarding the migrants we registered as perpetrators of offence and those who violate the public order and peace. Since we have immigration centres across Bosnia and Herzegovina, and those centres are empty, I asked for their relocation. Two thirds of migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina are staying in the Una-Sana Canton, I asked for their relocation in those immigration centres,” the minister said.

Hundreds of migrants have reached the territory of the Una-Sana Canton (USC), which borders Croatia, finding a temporary shelter there on the way to, as they say, final destination in the western Europe. Cantonal and municipal authorities of the region have been dealing with this burning matter, urging the competent institutions at the state level to act and find a solution to the problem the canton is unable to deal with alone.