Slovenia starts building fence to keep out migrants
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — Slovenia began erecting a razor-wire fence at its border with Croatia on Wednesday to stem the flow of migrants as winter closes in and countries to the north tighten border controls.
A day after the authorities warned of a “human catastrophe,” a convoy of army trucks carrying barbed wire and construction equipment arrived in Veliki Obrez, at the southern border with Croatia, at dawn Wednesday.
Throughout the morning, soldiers rolled out the razor wire along the Slovenian side of the Sotla, a river that forms part of the 400-mile border with Croatia.
Slovenia is a crucial part of what is called the Balkan route for migrants because its border with Croatia is on the southern frontier of the Schengen area, which allows passport-free travel through much of Europe.
More than 180,000 people have entered Slovenia from Croatia since Oct. 17, when Hungary closed its border and redirected the flow of migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia to Slovenia, a nation of 2 million.
Impeding the flow
The wall threatens to cause a major disruption on the route, just as winter is approaching. Still, migrants have largely been able to find their way around similar obstacles, like the complete shutdown of the Hungarian borders.
Most migrants have moved on to Austria and then Germany, and Slovenia has insisted that it could manage the influx, which has generally been 6,000 to 8,000 people a day, as long as the number of those entering the country more or less equals the number of those exiting.
Austria recently said it could accept only a maximum of 6,000 people a day from Slovenia as Germany, the preferred destination for most migrants, started to tighten some controls and intensify the screening process.
As a result, the Slovenian prime minister, Miro Cerar, said that it was likely that many of the 30,000 migrants who are traveling northward from Greece could be stranded in his country.
Cerar did not provide details about the length and exact location of the fence, but he emphasized that the border with Croatia “will remain open.”
Along the migrant trail, nations are watching Germany closely, as officials there tighten controls to weed out those not deemed eligible for asylum. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere of Germany also defended new measures Wednesday to stanch the inflow of even Syrians, whose four-year war has driven tens of thousands to Europe.
Changing course
A year ago, the country’s migration office agreed to accept written applications from Syrians seeking protection, foregoing the usual personal interview, de Maiziere said. But on Oct. 21, amid increasing doubts about the veracity of some claims to be Syrian, that measure was reversed, he told parliament Wednesday.
In other developments, Turkey’s state-run agency says seven children were among the 14 migrants who drowned when their boat sank early Wednesday off the northern Turkish Aegean coast.
Anadolu Agency says Turkish Coast Guard divers were searching the waters for more possible victims.
The boat carrying the migrants sank off the coast of Ayvacik early on its way to the Greek island of Lesbos. The migrants’ nationalities were not immediately known.
More than half a million migrants have crossed the Aegean Sea to the Greek islands from Turkey so far this year. Hundreds have died during the crossing.