The rush over Hungary’s border followed Macedonia’s decision to lift a three-day blockade of its border with Greece after thousands of migrants simply stormed past the Macedonian police who tried to stop them with force.
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“We do not see any end to the influx of people in coming months”, Melissa Fleming, chief spokeswoman of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said, citing continued violence in both Iraq and Syria and “worsening conditions” for Syrian refugees in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.
“This is the fifth ferry load of refugees to arrive in Piraeus since last Monday, that’s 12,500 in a single week with many more making the journey by other means”, our correspondent said.
Here’s the dictionary definition of refugee: n. One who flees, especially to another country, seeking refuge from war, political oppression, religious persecution, or a natural disaster.
Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons, reporting from Presevo on Serbia’s southern border, said more than 10,000 people had passed through to Serbia into Macedonia in less than five days.
Serbia has registered 90,000 people in its asylum system so far this year, but most quickly leave for richer European Union countries like Germany or the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, Francois Crepeau, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, said Tuesday that Europe is failing in its response and needs a new migration policy that emphasizes mobility.
Also Tuesday, Germany’s defense ministry announced a Somali woman gave birth on its frigate “Schleswig-Holstein” a day earlier.
The body of a third man was also recovered Monday night, but from a different part of the island, leading authorities to suspect a separate incident.
“Hungary is going to become an even bigger pressure point in this crisis and its government is already criticising the EU for not giving it enough money to cope with the record number of people”. The vast majority arrive in Lesbos.
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The situation was noticeably calmer and more orderly on Sunday, when nearly 2,000 people crossed into FYR Macedonia, according to UNHCR. “This includes capacity support, and support for equitable redistribution of refugees and asylum seekers across the EU“, Fleming noted.
