Bosnia must send a clear message that all migrants must respect its laws, the Director of Bosnia's Service for Foreigners’ Affairs, Slobodan Ujic told N1, adding that this requires for the Prosecution to get involved in the migrant situation and start prosecuting those committing crime.

On Tuesday, some 100 migrants took part in a mas fight in the Miral migrant centre in Bosnia's North-Western town of Velika Kladusa.

“We know what countries can't stand each other, or which migrants fight each other and we kept those groups apart. However, there was a major incident where close to a 100 migrants fought each other. They even attacked three of our police officers and damaged a police car,” Ujic said.

He warned that the Prosecution must get involved and start processing migrants committing serious crimes.

“There's absolutely a chance that we could come upon individuals who could pose a threat to out public order. We must send a clear message to all illegal migrants coming to Bosnia, that they must respect the laws here and abide by them,” Ujic stressed, adding that the situation with the migrants will not end soon and that there are those entering the country unregistered by any security agency in the country.

He also emphasised that there has been a 100 percent increase in the influx of migrants this year, compared to 2018, adding that there are about 5.500 of them currently in the country.

Last year Bosnian authorities recorded some 25,000 migrants who entered the country illegally in a bid to get to Western European countries.

According to him, most migrants entering Bosnia are Afghan, Pakistani and Algerian youths between 18 to 35 years of age, of which only 10-12 percent are refugees, and the rest are economic migrants.

Speaking about allegations that the Croatian police is beating and illegally returning migrants back to Bosnia, Ujic said that these allegations are true.

“We have records from the Una-Sana Canton (in the North-Western Bosnia) and the police, border police but also statements from these migrants that they were returned not only from Croatia but also from Slovenia to Croatia, who then bring them forcefully back to Bosnia.”

The European Commission was also familiarised about the case of Croatia's violent and illegal return of migrants to Bosnia, but there was still no response from them.

The EU even formed an initiative to form a camp for illegal migrants hoping to enter the EU, in the Western Balkans, but the Director of the Foreigners’ Affairs Service warns against Bosnia expanding its capacities.