Refugees and migrants on Western Balkans route at increasing risk – UNHCR
Some are registering for asylum in the Balkans while others headed onwards, but both groups face mounting danger.
GENEVA, June 12 (UNHCR) - Increasing numbers of refugees and migrants using the less well known "Western Balkans route" to reach Europe are facing growing risks, including abuse, violence, and accidents while walking along remote train tracks.
The UN refugee agency added on Friday there had been a dramatic increase in men, women and children walking for days along this route, which is much less in the spotlight than Mediterranean sea crossings
Some are registering for asylum in the Balkans while others headed onwards, but both groups face mounting danger, according to UNHCR.
"The situation is particularly difficult in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia [FYROM] where refugees and migrants follow rail tracks and mountain routes, walking for days exposed to train accidents, natural elements and to abuse and threats from smugglers and criminal networks," UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told a press briefing in Geneva.
Between 2012 and 2014 the number of people registering their intention to seek asylum in the Western Balkans increased from 5,000 to 20,000.
This year the numbers have risen still further, with over 22,000 asylum claims lodged in Serbia alone in the first five months of the year, six times higher than in the same period of 2014. In May alone, 10,000 new asylum-seekers were registered by the authorities.
UNHCR says authorities and civil society in southern Serbia are battling to provide basic humanitarian aid, registration and accommodation for around 200 asylum-seekers that approach them every day for help, having crossed the border from FYROM.
"We estimate that at least an equal number of people potentially in need of international protection forego registration, have been moving through the region irregularly, with the help of smugglers. The vast majority of them seek to reach western Europe crossing into Hungary," Edwards added.
The majority of people using this route are mainly from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Eritrea and Somalia. They mostly come via Greece, and with the recent surge in sea arrivals there, the number of people undertaking this journey is expected to grow.
UNHCR has been advocating for improvements to the asylum systems in this region since the early 1990s as existing capacities are inadequate for the scale of arrivals. It says the current situation is critical and will require further support, including through joint efforts with the European Union, national governments, and NGOs.
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Kosovo Crisis Update
8 Jun 1999 ... UNHCR is concerned by a number of reports from recently arriving refugees in the FYR of Macedonia ... In addition, testimony has been gathered from some refugees arriving in the FYR of Macedonia who ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
27 May 1999 ... FYR of Macedonia Around 300 Kosovar refugees arrived on Thursday in the FYR of Macedonia, mainly through the Jazince border crossing. Just 61 persons crossed at Blace, and all were men who had been ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
1 Jun 1999 ... FYR of Macedonia In a sudden change in policy, the Serbian border police are only allowing people with valid papers to leave for the FYR of Macedonia. As a result of this new move, on Monday, Serbian ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
12 May 1999 ... ... UNHCR staff are going back to the centre again today to try to persuade them to leave. FYR of Macedonia For the sixth straight day, the border area between Kosovo and the FYR of Macedonia at Blace was ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
29 Apr 1999 ... to leave the area early Wednesday and said it was now virtually deserted. Still other groups came from Prizren. FYR of Macedonia Around 5,200 refugees crossed into the FYR of Macedonia on Wednesday. ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
12 Apr 1999 ... FYR of Macedonia The border was closed again on Sunday 11 April, after 380 refugees arrived on ... They were robbed of their valuables and forced to buy tickets to go to Macedonia. Those who couldn't ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
13 Apr 1999 ... FYR of Macedonia Approximately 440 refugees arrived in Blace around noon on Monday, and were taken ... It wasn't until the end of the journey that they realized they were at the border with Macedonia. ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
4 Jun 1999 ... 400,000 people in Kosovo and nearly 100,000 others in the FYR of Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro. ... Reaction in the refugee camps in the FYR of Macedonia and Albania to Belgrade's reported acceptance ...... -
Kosovo Crisis Update
24 May 1999 ... ... Many of the men told UNHCR that they had been detained at other places in Kosovo at various times since late March. FYR of Macedonia The influx into the FYR of Macedonia continued over the weekend ......