Hungary passes law allowing army deployment in refugee crisis

The Hungarian parliament has passed a law that authorises the government to deploy the military to help tackle the country’s refugee crisis.

The new law allows the Hungarian army to use non-lethal force against refugees- including rubber bullets, pyrotechnical devices, tear gas grenades or net guns.

It was passed with 151 votes in favour, 12 against and 27 abstentions, with Prime Minister Victor Orban backed in the vote by the radical nationalist Jobbik party.

On Saturday, Hungary completed the construction of a 41-kilometre fence on its border with Croatia after its neighbour funnelled at least 15,000 refugees to Hungary, which then passed them on to Austria.

Over 500,000 people – most of whom hail from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan - have crossed the Mediterranean into Europe this year, making this Europe’s worst refugee crisis since the Second World War.

EU interior ministers will meet on Tuesday, where they are expected to agree on a voluntary relocation scheme to redistribute 160,000 refugees from Italy and Greece across the EU. EU leaders will hold an extraordinary summit to discuss the crisis.