Tensions flare as Croatia buses refugees to Hungarian border

Hungary has accused Croatia of violating international law after asylum seekers were sent over the border without first being registered.

Croatia earlier claimed to have reached saturation point after over 17,000 people arrived on its soil in the last two days, and began channelling the flow towards Hungary which has vowed to “defend its borders” from the influx.

Budapest said that over 44,000 people crossed from Croatia in 24 hours before it shit the final stretch of a new razor wire barrier along the frontier at midnight. It accused Zagreb of inciting refugees to break its tough new laws, which include three-year jail terms for breaching its border fence.

After two days of letting people in, Croatia announced on Friday that it was unable to cope, shutting seven of the eight crossings along its eastern border with Serbia and busing some people to the Hungarian frontier.

Croatian foreign minister Vesna Pusic later said Zagreb and Budapest had agreed to allow “vulnerable migrants” to cross into Hungary.

By late afternoon around 20 buses, each carrying around 60 migrants, had been allowed to cross the frontier and another 30 buses were waiting to cross in the evening.

Tensions also flared in Harmica, a Croatian village on the Slovenian border, as Slovenian police fired tear gas to drive back several hundreds of people trying to cross the border after rail services north were suspended by Ljubljana.

The clash happened shortly after Slovenian prime minister Miro Cerar said that his country might consider the creation of “corridors” for refugees wanting to reach northern Europe if they continue arriving in large numbers.

Slovenia’s ambassador to Germany told the Rheinische Post newspaper that his country would accept “up to 10,000” refugees.

European interior ministers will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday in a fresh attempt to agree on relocating asylum seekers through a binding quota system for each state.

European Council President Donald Tusk has described the crisis as a test of the EU’s “humanity and responsibility” and warned that migration would be a challenge for “many years to come”.