Attempted murder in Bosnia's migrant camp leaves one severely injured

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

An Afghani migrant suffered severe injuries in what the police said was an attempted murder by another migrant at the camp near Bosnia's northwestern town Velika Kladusa, a police spokesperson confirmed on Monday.

The migrant was stabbed in the abdominal area by another migrant identified as Pakistani national, in a brawl that emerged at the privately owned ‘Miral’ camp in the country's northwest, the Una-Sana Canton which borders Croatia.

“The injured migrant was provided medical assistance at the healthcare centre and he was hospitalised. I believe he is not in a life-threatening condition. The Pakistani national who caused the injuries was apprehended and he has undergone a criminal procedure at the Velika Kladusa precinct,” said Ale Siljdedic, the spokesperson for the Una-Sana Canton Interior Ministry.

Siljdedic said that prosecutors declared the incident an attempted murder.

According to the police report, the migrants tried to prevent the police from entering the camp and do the investigation, throwing various items on the police officers and mildly injuring one of them.

“The situation calmed down after the backup arrived, and it is under control now,” said Siljdedic.

Bosnia is seeing a new migrant wave in the wake of the relaxed coronavirus restriction measures across the region and end of the lockdown. After entering the country's eastern border, the migrants move to the northwest hoping they would cross the border with the European Union and reach their final destinations across Europe. But as Croatia keeps its borders closed for illegal migrants, they are stranded in the towns near the Bosnia-Croatia border, mostly accommodated in a few internationally-funded migrant centres but also occupying public areas in urban zones.