Migrants seek new routes amid impasse in Balkans

Migrants stranded in Croatia have been making renewed efforts to head north despite moves by Slovenia and Hungary to hold them back, reports BBC.
Slovenian police used pepper spray on Friday night to disperse a group trying to cross from Croatia.
Hungary, meanwhile, accused Croatia of violating international law after asylum seekers were sent over the border without first being registered.
The EU, which is divided on the crisis, is to hold emergency talks next week.
Overnight, thousands of migrants trying to pass through the Balkans to reach northern EU states spent the night at railway stations or sleeping alongside roads.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people slept on a motorway near Edirne in north-western Turkey, after Turkish police stopped them from crossing the border into Greece on Friday evening.
As controls have got tighter, many migrants have strayed from transport routes, walking through cornfields to reach borders.
In a day of chaos and confusion on Friday, people were shunted from one border to another as governments remained split over how to handle the crisis.
The march by Europe’s would-be immigrants is becoming a race against the changing political mood of its many nation states, says the BBC’s Lucy Williamson in Croatia.
Each day now there are new routes and new rules marking the map of Europe - and without a pan-European solution, it is every nation for itself.

 

Migrants seek new routes amid impasse in Balkans

Migrants stranded in Croatia have been making renewed efforts to head north despite moves by Slovenia and Hungary to hold them back, reports BBC. Slovenian police used pepper spray on Friday night to disperse a group trying to cross from Croatia. Hungary, meanwhile, accused Croatia of violating international law after asylum seekers were sent over the border without first being registered. The EU, which is divided on the crisis, is to hold emergency talks next week. Overnight, thousands of migrants trying to pass through the Balkans to reach northern EU states spent the night at railway stations or sleeping alongside roads. Meanwhile, hundreds of people slept on a motorway near Edirne in north-western Turkey, after Turkish police stopped them from crossing the border into Greece on Friday evening. As controls have got tighter, many migrants have strayed from transport routes, walking through cornfields to reach borders. In a day of chaos and confusion on Friday, people were shunted from one border to another as governments remained split over how to handle the crisis. The march by Europes would-be immigrants is becoming a race against the changing political mood of its many nation states, says the BBCs Lucy Williamson in Croatia. Each day now there are new routes and new rules marking the map of Europe - and without a pan-European solution, it is every nation for itself.