Three migrants killed in shooting near Serbia Hungary border

Three migrants killed in shooting near Serbia-Hungary border

Three migrants were killed and a fourth injured in a shootout between them on Friday near Serbia’s border with Hungary, state television RTS reported.

The shooting occurred in the buildings of an abandoned farm near the border village of Horgos, where television said migrants trying to enter Hungary, a European Union member country, often camp.

Large police forces have been deployed to the area where there have been sometimes deadly clashes between smuggling gangs and migrants in recent months.

Police did not immediately comment on Friday’s incident.

Serbia lies on the so-called Balkan route, which was used during the 2015 and 2016 migration wave by hundreds of thousands of people fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East to the European Union.

After this route was officially closed in 2016, migrants continued to use it, although in significantly smaller numbers.

In September, almost 400 migrants were arrested in northern Serbia and then transferred to reception centers.