Slovenian Police Claim Video Shows Croatian Police Directing Refugees Across Border

A helicopter equipped with a thermal imaging camera captured Croatian police directing refugees across the Croatia-Slovenia border late Tuesday evening, October 20, according to video released by the Slovenian police. The Slovenian police reported that its helicopter crew noticed a passenger train with refugees and migrants approaching the Croatian side of the border, near Dobova, where the passengers disembarked and then crossed the Sutla river.

“The passengers disembarked at the train station and were escorted by the Croatian police towards the border with Slovenia. They stopped when they reached the river. After a while the migrants decided to cross the border by wading across the river. It is evident from the video that nobody tried to stop them or direct them to a better crossing spot,” the Slovenian police said in the statement.

Slovenia called on the EU for back-up after a record influx of over 12,500 new asylum seekers in just 24 hours on October 22. Slovenian authorities’ inability to process more than 2,500 new arrivals a day has led to bottlenecks at the Austrian and Croatian borders, where refugees are stranded as the autumn weather worsens.

Slovenia has accused Croatia for contributing to the surge and ignoring requests to stem the flow. Credit: Slovenian Police