(ANSA-AP) - BERLIN — A report says migrants crossing Bulgaria on their way to Western Europe have complained of widespread abuse by the police including extortion, robbery, violence, threats of deportation and police-dog attacks.

The report funded by Oxfam and carried out by the Serbia-based Belgrade Center for Human Rights says more than 100 people interviewed after coming to Serbia from Bulgaria complained of abuse to the researchers.

The report released on Friday says one group spoke of a gun being held to a migrant's forehead, police taking their valuables, food and water and releasing dogs on them, after which seven people went missing.

In another incident two Afghan men said police had shot at their group, wounding two, while another Afghan man alleged he was pistol-whipped by Bulgaria's police.

Stefano Baldini, Oxfam Director for South East Europe, says "these testimonies present a consistent picture of alleged incidents in Bulgaria." He adds "the European Union has to intervene and take concrete action to protect basic human rights within its borders." There was no immediate reaction from the authorities in Bulgaria.

An EU member bordering Turkey, Bulgaria has put up a fence on the border to stop the migrants from crossing. The country has stayed out of international focus as only hundreds pass through, compared with thousands going through Greece. (ANSA-AP)