Around 10,000 Migrants in Serbia, Accommodation Capacity Insufficient

Rados Djurovic (Photo: PrintScreen YouTube)

The executive director of the Center for protecting and assisting asylum seekers, Rados Djurovic, stated on Sept. 7 that, according to the Center's figures, more than 70,000 migrants had entered Serbia since the start of the year and that there were currently around 10,000 of them in the country.

Djurovic told BETA that the majority of mgirants were from Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, North Africa and the Middle East. He said around 4,500 of them were living in accommodation provided by the state, i.e. reception centers, and that the others had found private accommodation or were staying in the open, mainly close to Serbia's northern border.

"Data indicates that the number of arrivals literally doubled compared to the same time last year," he said, adding that the migrants entered Serbia from the direction of North Macedonia, Kosovo and Bulgaria and usually moved towards the border with Hungary.

He explained that migrants lack even the basic conditions for living, welfare and medical support and adequate care, underscoring that minors without escort were also among the migrants. He said that, besides human traffickers, local extreme groups were attempting to utilize this situation for creating their own political agendas.