Turkish Red Crescent to help Bosnia in refugee crisis

The Turkish Red Crescent will support Bosnia and Herzegovina in dealing with a recent refugee crisis developing near the border with Croatia, said a representative of the charity group.

The head of the Delegation of the Red Crescent to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gökşen Yenigül, met Friday with Elvir Karalic, the representative of the charity organization "Pomozi.ba" in Bosnia.

Hundreds of migrants on Wednesday clashed with Bosnian police while trying to cross the border into neighboring Croatia.

Yenigül said that one of the most important partners of the Turkish Red Crescent in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the Red Cross but the aid group was also in cooperation with UN agencies and local humanitarian organizations such as "Pomozi.ba".

"Our aim is to allocate a suitable place for asylum seekers to settle. Winter is approaching. Therefore, at the request of the Red Cross, we focus on asylum seekers," said Yenigül.

The migrants, who had been camping at the Maljevac border crossing since Tuesday, ran through the police barriers in morning hours, chanting "open the borders".

Thousands of migrants have been staying in northwestern Bosnia and trying to cross the Croatian border on their way to other EU countries.

Recently, migrants -- mostly nationals of Afghanistan and Pakistan -- marched to the Croatian border to draw attention.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has found itself in the midst of a migrant crisis with a government crying over lack of funds.

After the Balkan route -- through Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary or Croatia -- was closed for refugees in March 2016, Bosnia is being used as an alternate route.

The Turkish Red Crescent is the largest humanitarian organization in Turkey, with an international network to help other nations in need.