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World / Americas

Hungarian police close main entry point for migrants

Published: 14 Sep 2015 - 06:45 pm | Last Updated: 17 Nov 2021 - 10:03 pm
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RÖSZKE: Hungarian police on Monday closed off the main crossing point for migrants entering from Serbia, AFP journalists saw.
Around 20 police fenced off a 40-metre (-yard) gap in a razor-wire barrier along the border by a railway line as other officers blocked the track.
A growing group of several dozen migrants including many children, some in pushchairs, were stuck on the Serbian side of the border, with several women crying.
EU member Hungary is on the front line of Europe's migrant crisis
Almost 200,000 people travelling up from Greece through the western Balkans have entered the country this year, most of them seeking to go to northern Europe.
On Sunday, police said a record 5,809 people had entering, smashing the previous day's record of 4,330, despite coils of razorwire being unrolled along the Serbian border.
By around midday (1000 GMT) on Monday, another 5,353 people had been intercepted, police said.
The sharp increase came ahead of tough laws coming into force Tuesday under which people entering Hungary illegally can be jailed for up to three years.
Hungary is also building a controversial four-metre high (13-feet) fence all along its 175-kilometre (110-mile) border with Serbia that it intends to complete by the end of October or early November.
The migrants, mostly Syrians, Afghans and Pakistanis, seek to travel onwards to Austria and then western Europe, particularly Germany and Sweden.
On Sunday, however, Germany reimposed border controls. Austria and Slovakia said Monday that they will follow suit, with Vienna planning to deploy around 2,200 military personnel.

AFP