The latest threat to Syrian refugees crossing Europe? 60,000 land mines.


Middle Eastern refugees making their way to Western Europe are confronted with a whole new threat in Croatia, where thousands of migrants have been stalled after the nation insisted it was "absolutely full" and "not the road to Europe." Forced to queue up for government-arranged buses to Slovenia, many migrants are now considering a potentially deadly march through fields and farmlands full of land mines, Buzzfeed reports.
Left over from the Yugoslavian war over two decades ago, 60,000 land mines remain embedded in the countryside, according to the Croatian Mine Action Center (CROMAC). Migrants considering crossing the fields are frighteningly close to at least two known high-concentration areas of mines; Croatian officials are hustling to put out alerts in Arabic and English, warning people away from the risky regions.
Many considering the passage are, thankfully, deterred by the threat. "They are traveling from thousands of miles, weeks of travel, to come to Croatia and Europe, and then to risk their lives in a minefield?" a top CROMAC official, Miljenko Vahtaric, told Buzzfeed. "I don't think that will happen."
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A mine has not caused a death in Croatia since 2012.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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