“At the moment, the Croatian government is transporting migrants – in contravention of the laws in force in the European Union – towards the Hungarian border instead of giving them a place to stay and looking after their needs”, charged Szijjarto.
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Many of those arriving in Croatia have already been taken by bus to reception centers, but officials, saying the country is overwhelmed by the crisis, say they will no longer be processing asylum applications, the Guardian says.
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic called on the army to be on alert and act if needed to protect the border from the migrants, after chaos erupted Thursday on the border with Serbia in a rush to get on the few available buses and trains, the AP said. Serbian officials protested the move, fearing that the closure would leave thousands of migrants stranded inside its own territory. 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.
The train driver was arrested after crossing the border and around 40 Croatian police accompanying the migrants were disarmed, according to head of Hungary’s national disaster unit, Gyorgy Bakondi. Milanovic said at a news conference.
However, Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic warned his country’s resources for dealing with the influx were “limited”.
Croatia has also given up on registering people under European Union rules.
The country stopped rail traffic coming from the south after finding 150 migrants on a Zurich-bound train. Slovenian police have intercepted dozens of migrants who tried to cross through the forests overnight from Croatia.
Croatia is part of the EU but not a party to the Schengen treaty, which allows people to travel freely between 26 European countries without showing their passports.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the first phase of the 41-kilometer (25-mile) barrier on the Croatian border will be completed Friday, with coils of razor wire being laid down before the actual fence goes up.
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They have been dumped here by Croatian police after crossing into the country from Serbia. The worldwide Organization for Migration puts those figures at 473,887 and 2,812.
