Chaos as refugees pour into Croatia
Ostojic said. ‘‘This is not the road to Europe.’’
Hungary sealed its border with Serbia this week with a razor wire fence and began arresting people trying to cross. Police used tear gas, batons and water cannons on those who tried to push open a border gate.
Croatia represents a longer and more difficult route into Europe. A total of 9200 people had entered the country in just 48 hours, police said, and other groups were trying to cross into neighbouring Slovenia and Hungary.
Slovenia, like Hungary, appeared unwilling to take the refugees, with Slovenian police saying those arriving from Croatia would be sent back there.
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 suggested Croatia might close its borders if faced with thousands more newcomers.
After bus trips through Serbia, many migrants crossed fields on foot to enter Croatia, where dozens of police at first directed them to trains and buses heading to refugee centres. Authorities warned them to avoid walking in areas along the Serbian border, where there are still mines left over from Balkan wars.
Soon, however, matters got out of control. Hundreds of angry asylum seekers pushed through police lines in the eastern Croatian town of Tovarnik after waiting for hours in the hot sun, demanding to be allowed to move on toward Western Europe.
More than 2000 men, women and children had been stuck at the local train station for hours. When buses finally arrived, groups charged toward them, overwhelming Croatian police.
The situation calmed down but some migrants moved off on foot, with police unable to stop them.
In Croatia’s north, police in the town of Batina struggled to cope as hundreds of other asylum seekers came over a Danube River bridge after being bused there by Serbian authorities.
As a European Union member state, Croatia is required to register the asylum seekers. But almost all are trying to reach Western Europe, and want to move through quickly.
Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said his country could do little to prevent the migrants from moving on.