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| Hungary closes main border crossing with Serbia | Hungary closes main border crossing with Serbia |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Related: Refugee crisis: UN says Britain will take 4,000 more Syrians – live updates | Related: Refugee crisis: UN says Britain will take 4,000 more Syrians – live updates |
| Hungary has closed its main border crossing with Serbia after several hundred refugees and migrants broke out of a nearby camp, while hundreds of others set off on foot for Austria and Germany from Budapest and Bicske, 25 miles north-west of the Hungarian capital. | |
| After at least 300 of the 2,300 people in the Röszke camp broke through a fence, police said in a statement: “In the interest of preventing accidents, the police have temporarily closed the Röszke motorway border crossing to incoming traffic and are redirecting traffic.” | After at least 300 of the 2,300 people in the Röszke camp broke through a fence, police said in a statement: “In the interest of preventing accidents, the police have temporarily closed the Röszke motorway border crossing to incoming traffic and are redirecting traffic.” |
| In the capital, Budapest, the Hungarian parliament passed a series of laws effectively sealing the country’s southern border to migrants – about 140,000 of whom have crossed it so far this year – and creating “transit zones” where asylum seekers would be held until their requests are processed. Those denied asylum would be deported. | In the capital, Budapest, the Hungarian parliament passed a series of laws effectively sealing the country’s southern border to migrants – about 140,000 of whom have crossed it so far this year – and creating “transit zones” where asylum seekers would be held until their requests are processed. Those denied asylum would be deported. |
| New laws will also make it a criminal offence to cross or damage Hungary’s razor-wire fence along the Serbian border, and make illegal border crossings punishable by up to three years in prison. | New laws will also make it a criminal offence to cross or damage Hungary’s razor-wire fence along the Serbian border, and make illegal border crossings punishable by up to three years in prison. |
| As many as 3,000 people – including many Syrian families with young children – remain stranded in a makeshift refugee camp at Budapest’s main international railway station. | As many as 3,000 people – including many Syrian families with young children – remain stranded in a makeshift refugee camp at Budapest’s main international railway station. |
| Whistling and chanting, several hundred refugees, mainly young men, set off on foot from the crowded Keleti station, where they have been stuck for several days, saying they were prepared to walk the 155 miles (250km) to Vienna – or even the 400 miles to Munich – if necessary. | Whistling and chanting, several hundred refugees, mainly young men, set off on foot from the crowded Keleti station, where they have been stuck for several days, saying they were prepared to walk the 155 miles (250km) to Vienna – or even the 400 miles to Munich – if necessary. |
| A huge crowd fed up off waiting outside the station sets off to walk to the border. This family race to pack and join pic.twitter.com/eFQ26Uladt | A huge crowd fed up off waiting outside the station sets off to walk to the border. This family race to pack and join pic.twitter.com/eFQ26Uladt |
| Refugees race down a motorway to join the main column pic.twitter.com/5Suw8cP669 | Refugees race down a motorway to join the main column pic.twitter.com/5Suw8cP669 |
| The Associated Press reported that hundreds more broke through a police cordon at the railway station in Bicske, before running westwards on a train track towards the Austrian border. | |
| The breakaway followed a standoff at the station involving about 500 people, many holding tickets for Berlin or Vienna, who refused to get off a train halted on Thursday by security forces who tried to move the passengers to a nearby refugee camp.. | |
| A border police officer, Laszlo Balazs, told reporters that the refugees, most of whom were unwilling to pursue asylum claims in Hungary and would prefer to reach Germany, were engaging in “passive resistance” and refusing to cooperate. Only 16 people voluntarily registered at the centre on Thursday. | A border police officer, Laszlo Balazs, told reporters that the refugees, most of whom were unwilling to pursue asylum claims in Hungary and would prefer to reach Germany, were engaging in “passive resistance” and refusing to cooperate. Only 16 people voluntarily registered at the centre on Thursday. |
| Police and civilian volunteers offered the refugees water, fruits and sweets, but many of them reportedly refused, pushing the food back through the train windows and shouting “No food! No food!” in protest. | Police and civilian volunteers offered the refugees water, fruits and sweets, but many of them reportedly refused, pushing the food back through the train windows and shouting “No food! No food!” in protest. |
| Adnan Shanan, 35, from Latakia in Syria, who said he was fleeing war in his homeland, said: “The situation is so bad. We have many sick people on the train. We have pregnant women, no food, no water. | Adnan Shanan, 35, from Latakia in Syria, who said he was fleeing war in his homeland, said: “The situation is so bad. We have many sick people on the train. We have pregnant women, no food, no water. |
| “We don’t need to stay here one more day. We need to move on to Munich, to anywhere else – we can’t stay here. We can’t wait until tomorrow. We need a decision today, now.” | “We don’t need to stay here one more day. We need to move on to Munich, to anywhere else – we can’t stay here. We can’t wait until tomorrow. We need a decision today, now.” |
| Cries of “No camp, freedom!” rang out repeatedly from the stalled train, which had been sprayed with the words “No camp. No Hungary. Freedom train” in shaving foam, Reuters reported. | Cries of “No camp, freedom!” rang out repeatedly from the stalled train, which had been sprayed with the words “No camp. No Hungary. Freedom train” in shaving foam, Reuters reported. |
| “We don’t know what’s going on,” said Ahmed Mahmoud, 60, who said he was a former Iraqi military officer who had lost both legs and was trying to join his daughter in Belgium. | “We don’t know what’s going on,” said Ahmed Mahmoud, 60, who said he was a former Iraqi military officer who had lost both legs and was trying to join his daughter in Belgium. |
| Related: Hungarian police and refugees in standoff after train returns to camp | Related: Hungarian police and refugees in standoff after train returns to camp |
| “The police told us, get fingerprinted or face jail time. So we gave our fingerprints and they told us we can go. But we can’t go to the west. I just want to see my child in Belgium.” | “The police told us, get fingerprinted or face jail time. So we gave our fingerprints and they told us we can go. But we can’t go to the west. I just want to see my child in Belgium.” |
| At Keleti, tempers frayed and conditions were rapidly worsening in the station concourse thanks to the late summer heat. Some families have pitched tents and painted signs demanding to be allowed to continue their journeys, while children played football nearby. | At Keleti, tempers frayed and conditions were rapidly worsening in the station concourse thanks to the late summer heat. Some families have pitched tents and painted signs demanding to be allowed to continue their journeys, while children played football nearby. |
| Abdel Aziz, from Syria, said: “People are starting to be more nervous and angry. They are losing money day by day … So the situation will become more complicated and we’ll see some more problems.” | Abdel Aziz, from Syria, said: “People are starting to be more nervous and angry. They are losing money day by day … So the situation will become more complicated and we’ll see some more problems.” |
| Hungary’s rightwing prime minister, Viktor Orbán, vowed on Friday that he would not let Europeans become “a minority in our own continent”, reiterating on Hungarian state radio his determination to stop the refugees. He said: “Today we are talking about tens of thousands, but next year we will be talking about millions and this has no end. | Hungary’s rightwing prime minister, Viktor Orbán, vowed on Friday that he would not let Europeans become “a minority in our own continent”, reiterating on Hungarian state radio his determination to stop the refugees. He said: “Today we are talking about tens of thousands, but next year we will be talking about millions and this has no end. |
| Related: Migration crisis: Hungary PM says Europe in grip of madness | Related: Migration crisis: Hungary PM says Europe in grip of madness |
| “We have to make it clear that we can’t allow everyone in, because if we allow everyone in, Europe is finished. If you are rich and attractive to others, you also have to be strong because if not, they will take away what you have worked for and you will be poor, too.” | “We have to make it clear that we can’t allow everyone in, because if we allow everyone in, Europe is finished. If you are rich and attractive to others, you also have to be strong because if not, they will take away what you have worked for and you will be poor, too.” |
| Hungary’s handling of the refugee crisis has created confusion and frustration. On Thursday, police reopened the station to migrants, only for passengers to be told by Hungarian Railways that it was suspending train services to western Europe “for security reasons”. | Hungary’s handling of the refugee crisis has created confusion and frustration. On Thursday, police reopened the station to migrants, only for passengers to be told by Hungarian Railways that it was suspending train services to western Europe “for security reasons”. |
| Many migrants then boarded trains they believed were heading for towns close to the Austrian border, including Sopron, Szombathely and Győr, but were later ordered off trains by police and taken to refugee camps in Vámosszabadi, about 70 miles west of Budapest, and Bicske. | Many migrants then boarded trains they believed were heading for towns close to the Austrian border, including Sopron, Szombathely and Győr, but were later ordered off trains by police and taken to refugee camps in Vámosszabadi, about 70 miles west of Budapest, and Bicske. |
| Hungary has also criticised Germany, which expects to receive 800,000 asylum seekers this year, for saying it would accept requests from Syrians regardless of where they entered the European Union, contrary to EU rules. | Hungary has also criticised Germany, which expects to receive 800,000 asylum seekers this year, for saying it would accept requests from Syrians regardless of where they entered the European Union, contrary to EU rules. |