On the 28th of March, a group of 100 people was pushed back from Croatia to Bosnia. The group consisted of male adults and six minors who were from Afghanistan and elsewhere.
The respondent described that the group had walked from Bihac, Bosnia for six days and had reached road 71 in the Croatian interior when they heard gunshots and saw around seven Croatian officers. The respondent also noticed police dogs and more officers, he estimates that there were more than 20 officers in total. The respondent describes the officers were wearing black uniforms and black ski masks. This description matches with the uniforms worn by the Croatian intervention police.
Next the respondent described that the officers started striking everyone in the group. As the respondent states, the officers were using wooden batons and they kicked and punched the group members.
“They all started that because the migrants were too many. They started beating up every one to set them down on the ground to not escape.”
After around 30 minutes, some vans arrived. The respondent and 18 other people were put into one of the vehicles. The respondent described the conditions in the van:
“There was no space for breathing and it was so hot.”
The respondent described that the van drove for around two and a half hours until it reached the border between Croatia and Bosnia close to the Lipa camp. There, the respondent recounted, the group members were struck again and the officers confiscated their mobile phones, bags, some of their clothing, and shoes. After the group had crossed the border, the respondent described that they had to walk for around four hours to reach the Lipa camp to seek help.