STA, February 6, 2018 - The number of migrants trying to enter Slovenia from Croatia by crossing the river Kolpa, which is secured with 89 kilometres of fence, has been rising over the past six months, police data show.
While Črnomelj and Metlika police recorded 46 such cases in the the first eight months of last year, the figure for the period since September has risen to 196.
Migrants are trying to cross the river where there is no fence, Anton Štubljar from the Nova Mesto Police Department said at a news conference held at the Žuniči border crossing.
"The migrants use boats stolen in Croatia, or despite low temperatures try to swim or walk across the river," said Štubljar, who heads the unit for state border and foreigners.
The migrants largely come on foot from the Bosnian town of Velika Kladuša. Their mobile phones enable them to navigation the unknown terrain, he explained.
Once found by the police, they are usually wet and freezing, in some cases in a very bad medical condition, and offered humanitarian aid.
The majority ask for international protection, and are accommodated at the Ljubljana Asylum Centre.
Stronger pressure on the Schengen border was noticed in September, when 76 migrants were apprehended in the area around Metlika, of whom 56 asked for asylum.
As the police beefed up its presence there, the migration route moved towards the area around Črnomelj, where 120 cases of entering Slovenia illegally were recorded in October.
In both cases, the majority of migrants came from Algeria and Morocco, while some were from Pakistan, Libya and Iraq. The majority were men aged 18 to 35.
Štubljar also touched on a recent death of a migrant who tried to cross the Kopla, saying the case was handled by Croatian police.
In his view, the Slovenian police is efficient in protecting the border and discovering illegal migrants.
The police have enough staff, equipment and support, and cooperates with the Croatian police on the other side of the river. They also have joint patrols, he told the press.
