Group of asylum seekers (single men) destroys coach on its way to The Hague. COA sends bus back to Ter Apel. ‘Horrible incident’

Back in Ter Apel, the bus was met by a group of 25 to 30 police officers. They let the refugees out one by one, searched them and handed them over to the COA. According to the COA, they had all just arrived in the Netherlands and had partly passed through the identification and registration street.

‘No violence used’

The evacuation of the bus went smoothly and safely, according to the police. “Partly due to the heavy efforts of police officers. We didn’t have to use force,” said a police spokesman.

Numerous vandalisms were committed in the bus. The damage is compensated by the COA and the insurance company.

“We are very sorry that the bus driver had to experience this,” said Alet Bouwmeester, COA spokesperson. The man escaped unscathed, she confirms.

Threatening language: don’t go back to Ter Apel

The driver, co-owner of a coach company often hired by the COA, raised the alarm with the COA on the way. During a stop, he had discovered that kitchen cabinets had been broken into and food supplies looted. Numerous vandalism had been committed in the bus.

The COA told him to turn around. When the group of refugees became aware of this, the men uttered threatening language. ,,They did not want to return to Ter Apel”, says Bouwmeester. The men were even willing to pay for it. A fight broke out in the back of the bus in the Emmen area.

‘Never experienced before’

The North African men are back in Ter Apel for the time being. Bouwmeester: “They are not isolated. You certainly shouldn’t do that. We’ll see if we can get these men through the process faster.”

According to Bouwmeester, this is a ‘horrible incident’. “We have never experienced this before. And more often groups of only single men board a bus together. Without any problems. Security is not present, because we do not consider it necessary.”