A Mountain Rescue Service member recorded a large number of migrants trying to cross the Bosnian-Croatian border by crossing the Pljesevica mountain on the border between the two states.

According to the Una-Sana Canton Interior Ministry, there are between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants on the territory of this northern canton near the Croatian border, and they say the number is growing. Migrants who come to Bihac and Velika Kladusa, two northernmost Bosnian cities that are closest to the border, use all means to cross the border.

This time a large group of migrants was recorded by a Mountain Rescue Service member who was riding along the mountain trail on the Pljesevica mountain when he came across a seemingly endless trail of migrants. The migrants were using the bike-trail to cross the border into Croatia.

Speaking to N1, Head of the Mountain Rescue Service office in Bihac, Ermin Lipovic, said the office handed the video over to Bosnian media in order to stress the issue of migrants’ movement across the country. He added that Service members assisted the local police and the state Border Police in surveying the terrain but with winter approaching, new problems with arise.

“Knowing the terrain and how harsh the mountains are, we’re afraid the modest equipment we have may not be adequate to respond to this new challenge. Our field office is modestly equipped and our previous interventions have always been successful but the danger exists because we lack additional equipment and training for several of our members, in order to be fully prepared,” Lipovic told N1.

Over 13,000 illegal migrants were reported with the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina since the beginning of this year.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's Council of Ministers said that the situation is somewhat calming down. The presence of some 13,000 illegal migrants has been reported to the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs from January to September this year. More than 12,000 have expressed intention to seek asylum, and the rest have submitted requests for it.

The situation with Bosnia’s Border Police is not good either. According to the previous systematization, when the migrant crisis did not even exist, the Border Police lacked 529 members. Currently, one Border Police member covers an area of 33 kilometres of the state border. The Border police are assisted by police officers from other levels of government in the country, but the situation is still far from ideal.