June 11 (SeeNews) - The movement of migrants through the Western Balkans intensified in May, reaching monthly highs for this year in Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said.
In Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania, a total of 2,838 migrants and refugees were registered last month - the highest figure reported since the beginning of the year, the IMO said in a statement last week.
The arrival of a total of 7,402 new migrants and refugees was registered in Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania between January and May 2018, the IMO said.
More than half of the migrants and refugees, 4,841, were registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina and there were 520 new migrants and refugees arriving in the country every week. Almost half of all individuals registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina this year were from Pakistan (22%) and Syria (22%) followed by those who declared Afghan (14%), Iranian (10%) and Iraqi (8%) nationality, the organisation noted.
Since the start of the year, authorities in Montenegro have registered 1,362 migrants and refugees, mainly from Syria (46%), Pakistan (13%) and Algeria (12%).
In Albania, there were 1,199 migrants and refugees registered in the first five months of this year. Among the three countries, only the Albanian authorities reported a decrease in arrivals last month – from 293 reported in April to 147 reported in May, the IMO said.
However, the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) flow monitoring activities in the north of the country indicate an increase in movements towards Montenegro. In May, authorities registered 139 migrants and refugees on exit from the country, a 200% increase compared to only 40 reported in April and 10% increase compared to 126 identified in March.
IOM is an intergovernmental organisation that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. In September 2016, it became a related organisation of the United Nations.