Six injured, two in critical condition after clash between rival smugglers in Bosnia

Six people were injured and two are in critical condition after a violent clash between rival migrant groups near an asylum center took place in Bosnia on Monday evening.

The shootout took place in the village of Blazuj, located on the outskirts of Sarajevo, police informed news agency AP. Authorities responded by conducting a raid on the nearby migrant camp, where several individuals were taken into custody,

Local media reports said the violence stemmed from a dispute between competing human smuggling groups operating routes from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Blazuj sits along the Balkan route, a pathway commonly used by migrants attempting to reach Western Europe. Although the number of migrants traveling through the Balkans has dropped since the peak of 2015–2016, many still rely on smugglers to cross into neighboring EU member Croatia—often at great personal risk.

Migrants from Asia, the Middle East, and Africa regularly face perilous conditions, including exploitation and violence by trafficking networks that compete for control and clash with law enforcement.

In a related incident over the weekend in Serbia, a migrant was fatally shot during a confrontation with police. Authorities reported the incident occurred during a raid on what they described as an illegal migrant camp near the Croatian border.