Germany calls on Croatia to 'clarify' situation on Bosnian border

The German government has "noted with great concern" reports and images of the mistreatment of refugees and migrants at Croatia's border with Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is also an external border of the EU, reported dpa.

"Mistreatment of refugees and migrants by border guards is not acceptable," a German Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday.

"Any kind of border protection must meet humanitarian standards under all circumstances, comply with the applicable provisions of international and European law and respect fundamental European values," he continued.

Pictures broadcast on German television last week showed masked men on Croatian territory using batons to drive refugees and migrants back into Bosnia in order to make it impossible for them to claim asylum.

The jackets worn by the masked men and the batons they used suggested they were members of the Croatian riot police.

The German Foreign Office said it "fully supported" a European Commission investigation into "the serious allegations" of mistreatment.

Human rights organizations have been reporting legal violations on the EU's external borders for many years.