ZAGREB, Croatia, Sept. 18 (UPI) — Hungary started construction on a new fence along its southern border Friday while Croatia announced it was closing border crossings with Serbia to stem the influx of migrants.
Croatia and Serbia, on Hungary’s southern border, in the last week have had an increase of migrants, largely from Syria. Of 13,300 registered in Croatia since Wednesday, 2,000 passed into the country overnight Thursday into Friday.
In the past several weeks, Hungary has shut down train services and built razor-wire fences along its border with Serbia to discourage immigration.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on national radio Friday a similar fence on the border with Croatia was being rapidly built by hundreds of soldiers. The barrier is concentrated on a 25-mile section of the border where the two countries are not separated by a river.
Hungary’s strict measures at the Serbian border this week led to conflict between police and protesters Wednesday, and thousands of refugees left Serbia for Croatia, where they hoped to pass through Hungary on their way west. By Thursday, Croatia closed seven of eight crossings at its Serbian border after 11,000 refugees overwhelmed the checkpoints.
Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic warned his country’s resources were limited, but refugees would not be prevented from passing through Croatia to other European countries.
Meanwhile, Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s economic minister, warned European Union funding would not be extended to countries that “don’t share our values,” a reference to Hungary’s hard line against immigration. He noted Germany welcomed refugees, opening gym floors, barracks and homes, while other countries were “laying barbed wire on their borders and closing the gates.”
