4,870 illegal migrants enter BiH so far this year: minister

SARAJEVO, May 29 (Xinhua) -- A total of 4,870 illegal migrants have entered Bosnia and Herzegovina since the beginning of this year, the country's security minister Dragan Mektic revealed here on Tuesday.

At a press conference, Mektic said 4,215 illegal migrants expressed their intention to apply for asylum and 423 persons had already applied for asylum, adding that there is a possibility that a small number of migrants are not adequately registered.

He said that a ministerial meeting in Sarajevo had been scheduled for June 7, which will be dedicated to seeking a response to the migrant crisis and detecting and preventing the smuggling of people.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants passed through the so-called "Balkan route" in 2015, trying to reach Western Europe. BiH was then not part of that route. However, migrants have turned to BiH in recent months, trying to avoid more heavily-guarded routes and borders in the Balkans. Enditem