Croatia puts army on alert
Associated Press
BATINA, Croatia
Croatian leaders put the army on alert after chaos erupted Thursday on the border with Serbia, where thousands of asylum-seekers poured into the country, some trampling each other in a rush to get on the few available buses and trains. Dozens were injured in the mayhem.
The masses descended on Croatia after Hungary erected a barbed-wire fence and took other tough measures to stop them from using it as a gateway into Western Europe.
As Hungarian officials hailed their success in putting a halt to the influx and moved ahead with plans to build more border fences, leaders in Croatia pleaded that their country was at full capacity and unable to cope with waves of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa.
Croatian Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic said he had a message for migrants: Don’t try to go to Western Europe through his country.
“Don’t come here anymore. Stay in refugee centers in Serbia and Macedonia and Greece,” Ostojic told reporters. “This is not the road to Europe. Buses can’t take you there. It’s a lie.”
Hungary sealed off its border with Serbia this week with a razor-wire fence and began arresting people who tried to cross. Police used tear gas, batons and water cannons on those who tried to push open a border gate Wednesday.
Croatia represents a longer and more difficult route into Europe, but those fleeing violence in their homelands had little choice. By late Thursday, 9,200 people had entered the country in just 48 hours, police said, and other groups were trying to cross into neighboring Slovenia and Hungary.
Slovenia, like Hungary, appeared unwilling to take in the inflow, with Slovenian police saying those arriving from Croatia would simply be sent back there, according to the country’s state news agency.
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic called on the military to be on higher alert and to act if needed to protect the border from the migrants. Ostojic, the interior minister, meanwhile, suggested Croatia might close its borders if faced with thousands more newcomers.