Croatia closes border crossings with Serbia

On Thursday, Croatia shut seven of eight road border crossings with Serbia after more than 11,000 refugees overwhelmed the frontier over the past two days.

Hungary this week sealed its border with Serbia, cutting off a major entry point into the European Union for tens of thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa travelling up through the western Balkans.

Others trying to enter Slovenia by train from Croatia were intercepted by border police, with officials stopping all rail traffic on the main line between the countries.

“When we said corridors are prepared, we meant a corridor from Tovarnik to Zagreb”, he added, suggesting Croatia would not be allowing migrants simply to proceed northwards to Slovenia.

Orban announced on Friday that construction had begun on the new fence, similar to the barrier erected recently along its border with Serbia.

The crowd eventually broke through the police lines, pouring out of the station in search of buses and taxis to take them further into Croatia on to Western Europe.

On Wednesday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees urged Europe to make changes, such as establishing reception centers in Greece (where more than 300,000 people have made their first landfall).

The sudden influx comes a day after Hungarian police fired tear gas and water cannon at a group of refugees that surged through a border fence that was erected earlier this week to prevent their entering from Serbia. Most plan to travel on, passing through Slovenia and then Austria en route to Germany or the Scandinavian countries.

Thousands of migrants continue continued to stream in from Serbia this morning as European leaders dither on how to cope with the crisis. Some refused water in protest.

The decision came after the refugees and asylum seekers switched routes from Hungary to Croatia after the government in Budapest dramatically increased security at its borders.

The new measures would cut benefits to new arrivals, expedite deportations and punish false asylum claims.

(Vatican Radio) Thousands of Syrian and other refugees have been dumped by Croatian authorities near the Hungarian border.

Migrants told EUobserver the Croatian police had informed them that they would be transported to Zagreb for registration.

Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto lashed out against the strong criticism the country has faced internationally – including comments from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who called Hungary’s response unacceptable.