Earlier on Friday, Croatia had given warning that it will close all border crossings in a bid to bar refugees from entering after about 13,000 crossed into the country in the last three days.
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A number of migrants were injured during the clashes while police officers used batons as they tried to break up the fight, which started at the ticket office.
Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said the incident was “a very serious border violation”. Hungarian officials also said they would be adding up to 1,800 troops and 400 police to the border.
“Police just told us, you are free now”, Mohammad, a 25-year-old Syrian refugee told this website, sitting on his sleeping bag on the pavement next to a petrol pump.
“The European Union must know that Croatia will not become a migrant hotspot”. Aleksandar Vulin, Serbia’s social affairs minister, said Serbia will take Croatia to global courts if the worldwide border crossings remain closed, arguing that it should have been prepared for the influx.
Others are stuck in Beli Manastir, near the Hungarian border, where Croatia had the capacity to house 200 people in military barracks, reports the Times.
Croatia has also blocked refugees – most of whom had fled conflict in Syria and Iraq – from leaving for Slovenia en route to western European countries such as Germany, leaving many of them stranded along the border. People in wheelchairs and women carrying children were among the thousands rushing in the heat in hopes of finding refuge.
Hungary has been erecting a fence across their border with Serbia.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the first phase of the 25-mile barrier would be completed on Friday, with coils of razor wire being laid down before an actual fence goes up.
Croatia’s interior ministry has said that more than 17,000 people have entered the country.
He lashed out at those in the West who have criticized his handling of the migrant crisis.
“24 years ago we were in the same situation during the war with Serbia, I was a refugee myself for seven years, I had to flee this area”, he added, explaining why local Croatians are sympathetic towards the migrants.
“We are coming with our modest Islamic perspectives”.
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Another precious item for refugees available at the petrol station are local SIM cards, which allows them to check maps and talk to family back home.
