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Macedonia said Friday it would allow a limited number of “vulnerable” migrants to enter the country after sealing its border with Greece to them, leaving thousands of refugees stuck in no-man’s land.

Some 800,000 refugees are expected in Germany this year alone, by far the most in the 28-nation European Union.

Police backed by armoured vehicles also spread coils of razor wire over rail tracks used by migrants to cross on foot from Greece to Macedonia. Macedonia shut the border to crossings on Thursday.

The United Nations voiced concern at the force used by the Macedonian riot police to disperse refugees and urged the Skopje government to establish “orderly management” of its borders.

The refugees see both Macedonia and Serbia only as transit routes to Western Europe, which is why Macedonia earlier relaxed controls on migrants, allowing them 72 hours to cross the country unhindered.

A number of thousand individuals from the Center East, Africa and Asia, many on Thursday declared a state of emergency and successfully sealed its southern frontier to migrants and refugees.

As of Friday, only legal migrants can enter Macedonia.