Bosnian official: Croatia illegally expelling migrants

SARAJEVO, Bosnia – A Bosnian official says migrants are being illegally pushed back into its territory by police in neighbouring Croatia.

Bosnian Security Minister Dragan Mektic said Monday that scores of migrants are reporting that they have been forced to return to Bosnia by Croatian police who threatened them and in some cases used violence against them.

Mektic said some of the migrants had visible injuries.

An international watchdog group, the Border Violence Monitoring, published a video Sunday that showed Croatian police officers shouting orders at migrants and escorting them from a forest.

Croatian police deputy director, Josip Celic, denied the accusations Monday, saying police weren’t expelling, but rather “deterring” migrants from illegally entering Croatia.

Celic said the police are investigating all reports of violence against migrants by their officers.