Hundreds of migrants push through police lines in Croatia

Croatia closed all but one of its eight border crossings with Serbia after more than 13,000 people, who were turned away from Hungary, flooded into the country in a matter of days. The train with eleven carriages left Friday morning carrying hundreds to refugee centers in the capital Zagreb and elsewhere.

The country has also stepped up border controls, manning its Croatian border with foot patrols and a helicopter and stopping all passenger trains at the Dobova border.

Hungary has stirred up more angst in Europe by saying it planned to build more fences along its borders, this time with Romania and Croatia.

Tensions boiled over when hundreds of furious refugees and migrants tore down wire meshing across two blocked access routes to Hungarian territory at the flashpoint Roszke crossing, injuring 14 Hungarian police officers.

The ministry said it would carry out its “obligations to manage migration and control its borders” and expected Croatia to do the same.

Croatia had said it would let people pass through freely on their way to other European Union countries, but Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic warned his country’s resources for dealing with the huge influx were “limited”. But they have little choice after Hungary sealed off its southern border with Serbia and began arresting anyone caught trying to enter illegally.

Scores of refugees were entering into Croatia from Serbia, by a connecting bridge in the town of Batina, after they were dispersed by buses the Serbs at its border with Hungary.

It was unclear where the migrants would go from Croatia, which borders to the north and north-east Schengen Zone members Slovenia and Hungary.

As overwhelmed authorities staggered to handle the chaotic surge, Croatian police said 7,300 people had entered since the first groups started arriving early Wednesday.

“Croatia cannot take this burden and will not accept it while others turn their heads from it. People will not be able to remain in Croatia”.

Meanwhile, European and global officials condemned the anti-immigrant policy of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, decrying the construction of a border fence along Serbia and the use of tear gas and water cannons to repel refugees.

Oban added 600 soldiers were working on the fence, and a further 500 will be deployed on Friday and 700 more over the weekend.

However the migrant crisis has seen an informal relaxation in those rules. A spokesman for the United Nations refugee agency, Babar Baloch, said countries can not cope individually. “They are people in genuine need of our protection”.