Distrust deepens as mood darkens

The Paris terror attacks are threatening to create an atmosphere even less welcoming in Central Europe for those fleeing war in the Middle East.

On the Slovenian-Austrian border, the armies of both nations strip-searched refugees on their westward march amid heightened security over the weekend, causing large numbers to build up at a camp.

The shifting mood could threaten European efforts to find unity on the crisis.

A new “anti- migrant” government in Poland is already casting doubt on whether it will take all 7,000 refugees the previous government agreed to.

That one of the suicide bombers appears to be a Syrian who passed through Greece in October is also deepening a belief among many that the refugees should be seen as potential terrorists.

Even some of those fleeing are worried about the security gaps that have come with the largest movement of refugees across European borders since World War II.

Some say they fear that the same IS extremists they are running from will infiltrate their numbers, carry out more attacks and create greater distrust of legitimate asylum-seekers.

“Europe made a big mistake. They should not allow all the people,” said Emile Tarabeh, a customs officer from Syria at a refugee centre in Presevo, Serbia, who is hoping to reach Sweden. “It will be more difficult now” for the real refugees, he said.

A refugee wraps up