March of the migrants now 'out of control' as Croatia

29.05.2020 01:18

Slovenia is pleading with the EU to send more police to patrol its borders as thousands more migrants enter the country on their way to western Europe.

The country's president Borut Pahor said he needed 'fast assistance' from the EU as it emerged that about 19,500 migrants have entered Slovenia since Friday.

It comes as Slovenia accused Croatia of sending thousands of refugees toward its borders 'without control' after ignoring requests to contain the surge.

While Slovenia has said it can handle only 2,500 migrants a day, its police said that around 8,300 migrants seeking to head towards Western Europe were in reception centres in the small country, with thousands more arriving.

Police in riot gear surrounded hundreds of migrants in a muddy field near the border village of Rigonce, from where they were escorted on foot to an already overcrowded reception centre about nine miles away.

'The pressure of immigrants arriving from Croatia is intensifying,' the Slovenian government said in a statement.

The government said 8,000 migrants arrived on Monday, while only 2,000 continued toward Austria and at least 4,000 more, including many babies and young children, had entered Slovenia early Tuesday.

'Slovenia is publicly calling on member states and European institutions to become actively involved in taking on the unevenly distributed burden that Slovenia is under,' the government said.

'It is delusional to expect a country with a population of two million to stop, regulate and resolve what much bigger member states have failed to do.'

Slovenia has been confronted by the surge since Hungary closed its border with Croatia to the free flow of migrants on Saturday, forcing migrants to find new routes to Austria, Germany and other favored destinations in the European Union.

(dailymail.co.uk)