A refugee was killed and six others, including a teenage girl, were injured in Serbia on Saturday. Hungarian border Serbian public radio and television RTS reported on the shooting between groups of refugees. A 16-year-old boy suffered life-threatening injuries in the shooting in a forest near Subotica, 160 km north of Belgrade, and the injured were taken to hospital, TRS said.

Police blocked access to the forest where the shooting took place, about a kilometer from the Hungarian border. Serbian Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin visited the scene. Subotica Mayor Steven Backic told the media that between 20 and 30 of the injured did not have identification. It was not known what caused the shooting.

Road to the European Union

According to media reports, the shootout pitted Afghan and Pakistani refugees against each other over smuggling of illegal immigrants across the border to member state Hungary. EU.

Serbia is on The Balkan route Used by migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa who want to reach Western Europe. Although the route is less traveled than during the 2015 migrant crisis, tens of thousands of illegal migrants pass through the region each year.