The Latest: Migrants on Bosnia border start hunger strike

MADRID (AP) — The Latest on Europe's migration crisis (all times local):

5:50 p.m.

Migrants camping on Bosnia's border with European Union member Croatia say they are launching a hunger strike.

Several dozen migrants have stayed out in the open for days insisting that Croatia let them in. They have clashed with police while trying to push their way through.

Some of the migrants on Saturday covered their mouth and eyes with tapes in protest. Others could be seen walking among small tents or sitting on the road.

Migrant man holds a child standing in front Bosnian police cordon at the border crossing in Maljevac, Bosnia, Friday, Oct. 26, 2018. About 150 people have gathered at the Bosnian border with Croatia, hoping for the European border to open for people fleeing war and poverty.(AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Bosnian police have sought to persuade the group to move to a migrant center.

Several thousand migrants have been staying in northwestern Bosnia as they try to cross from there to neighboring Croatia and move on toward other EU nations. Authorities have turned back buses and trains carrying more migrants.

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2:10 p.m.

Spain's maritime rescue service says it has saved over 350 migrants attempting the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea.

The service says it pulled 359 people from seven small boats its rescue craft intercepted in waters between Spain and the coast of northern Africa on Saturday.

Spain has seen a rise in illegal immigration this year following a crackdown by countries in the eastern Mediterranean.

Bosnian police forces secure a road in Maljevac, Bosnia, near to the border with Croatia, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. Bosnian police say three officers and three migrants have been hurt in skirmishes on the border with Croatia where dozens of people have been trying to cross into the European Union country.(AP Photo/Amel Emric)

The International Organization for Migration said this week that over 45,000 men, women and children have entered Spain through the western Mediterranean route in 2018.

Packed into small boats by human trafficking gangs, the migrants often risk death because the boats are prone to sinking. The United Nations says over 1,960 people have died this year trying to cross the Mediterranean.