Border police in Serbia say they are facing growing numbers of illegal migrants attempting to enter the country, mainly over its southern border with Macedonia. In the first six months of 2013, police registered illegal entry attempts by more than 5,000 migrants, mostly from Africa and the Middle East. Many are following the trans-Asian corridor, which leads from the Mideast through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, and Serbia before reaching Hungary and the Schengen free-travel zone. In the past year, the war in Syria has resulted in a massive influx of Syrians attempting to cross the Western Balkans in search of asylum in Europe or beyond. (Photos by Marko Djurica of Reuters.
The Serbia Route Into Europe
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Migrants are escorted by a Serbian border officer near the southern town of Presevo after being caught illegally entering the country from Macedonia.
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A migrant, who said he was from Somalia, sits on the ground after being apprehended near the town of Presevo.
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Migrants climb into a police vehicle after being rounded up near Presevo.
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Serbian border police patrol near Presevo. The majority of illegal migrants enter Serbia via its southern border with Macedonia.
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Syrian migrants wait after being stopped by Serbian border police near the Macedonian border. Serbia has seen a sharp rise in the number of Syrian migrants fleeing the war in their home country.
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A young Syrian girl sleeps in the arms of a relative after her family was after apprehended by Serbian border police. Most illegal migrants see Serbia as the gateway to Hungary and the borderless Schengen zone.
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By the time they get to Serbia, many migrants have already traveled through Turkey, Greece, and Macedonia.
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A member of the Serbian border police looks at a thermal camera screen while on patrol near the town of Presevo.
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A migrant, who said he was from Afghanistan, is photographed by police after entering Serbia from Macedonia.
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Drawings of national flags are seen in the asylum center in the village of Bogovadja near the Serbian capital Belgrade.
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An asylum seeker in Bogovadja.
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Syrian asylum seekers sit and talk outside the Bogovadja center.
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Clothes are hung up to dry on a fence at the Bogovadja asylum center.
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A Serbian policeman in the southern village of Miratovac.
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A map of the Serbian-Macedonian border inside a Presevo police station, illustrating various routes that illegal migrants use to cross from one country to the other.