The United Nations refugee agency on Friday voiced grave concern at the plight of migrants and refugees including young children in Greece and the Balkans during the harsh winter weather that has swept Europe.
Two Iraqis, a young Somali woman and a young Afghan have frozen to death this year, spokesperson Cecile Pouilly told a media briefing in Geneva.
UNHCR remains "deeply worried" at the situation of thousands of people and has stepped up its humanitarian assistance to migrants and refugees in the region, she said.
The UN refugee agency is also "extremely concerned" by reports that authorities in all the countries along the Western Balkans migration route continue to push back people from inside their territory to neighbouring countries despite the bitter cold, Pouilly said.
Refugees and migrants have alleged police brutality "in several cases" while many have claimed their mobile phones and even items of clothing were confiscated, preventing them from calling for help once stranded, she said.
"These practices are simply unacceptable and must be halted, as they place the lives of refugees and migrants at heightened risk and violate their most fundamental rights," Pouilly stated.
Criminal gangs are also physically abusing and extorting money from people, she said, adding that UNHCR wants European states to boost their efforts to tackle these gangs and safeguard refugees and migrants.
In Greece, UNHCR has transferred hundreds of people to better accommodation on the islands of Lesbos and Chios in recent days but is extremely concerned about some 1,000 people including families with young children who continue to live in unheated tents and dormitories on Samos, she reported.
The agency has distributed high thermal blankets, sleeping bags, winter boots and clothes but wants the government to speed up the transfer of refugees and migrants to the Greek mainland, where better shelter is available, according to Pouilly.
In Serbia, UNHCR said about 1,200 males including up to 300 unaccompanied boys who are sleeping rough in makeshift camps in the centre of the capital, Belgrade, in low temperatures, although the agency is supplying heaters, blankets and winter clothes, she noted.
"We urge the authorities to continued their efforts to expand emergency shelter capacities,with particular consideration to the specific needs of unaccompanied children," Pouilly said.
