Hundreds of migrants hoping to enter Croatia stranded in Serbia

Braving near-freezing weather, a number of refugee and migrants across the Balkans have died while trying to make their way into the European Union.

Migrants and refugees take food inside an abandoned factory close to the Croatian border near the town of Sid in Serbia. December 19, 2017.
Reuters

Migrants and refugees take food inside an abandoned factory close to the Croatian border near the town of Sid in Serbia. December 19, 2017.

Hundreds of refugees and migrants are braving near-freezing temperatures in shrubs and fields near Sid, a northwestern Serbian town just outside European Union’s member Croatia, hoping to make another border run.

The so-called Balkan route for migrants was shut last year when Turkey agreed to stop the flow in return for EU aid and a promise of visa-free travel for its own citizens.

But people from the Middle East, Africa and Asia continued to arrive in Serbia, via neighbouring Bulgaria, attempting to enter Croatia and the EU.

And now they say their lives were put in danger when officers forced them to return to Serbia.

TRT World's Liz Maddock reports.

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