Bosnia stops nearly 100 migrants at Croatia border

Bosnian border police said nearly 100 migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan were stopped near the Croatian border while trying to enter the European Union illegally.

Police said two groups were intercepted on Wednesday near Bistrica in northern Bosnia. One group included 40 Pakistani nationals and 23 Bangladeshi nationals. A second group of 33 Afghan, Bangladeshi and Pakistani migrants was stopped in the same area.

Police said they seized two boats that the migrants were to use to cross the Sava river and identified two suspected smugglers.

Bosnia lies on the Balkan route used by undocumented migrants trying to reach the European Union. EU border agency Frontex said more than 4,900 illegal border crossings were registered on the route in the first seven months of the year, 26 percent fewer than in the same period last year.