Surge in migrant arrivals in Hungary provokes spat with Croatia

The massive influx of people to Central Europe in recent days boiled over into a diplomatic spat on Saturday, while violence broke out on the Slovenian border as migrants sought a new way into the region, The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported Sunday.

Croatia on Friday began busing migrants to the Hungarian border without an agreement with the government, prompting Budapest to accuse Zagreb of failing to observe its international obligations on the treatment of migrants, which oblige European countries to process asylum requests. But Croatia said the strain was too big and it would continue to send migrants to the border.

“We forced them to accept them by sending them there,” said Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic, adding that he hadn’t spoken about the crisis to his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban.

About 21,000 migrants have entered Croatia since Wednesday, the government said Saturday.

Relations between the two countries were strained further after 1,000 migrants were escorted via train by 40 armed Croatian police officers.

Tens of thousands of migrants have for days been testing the borders of Central European countries as they attempt to reach their preferred destinations in Northern Europe. But the region has been overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of arrivals.

At Croatia’s border with Slovenia, tensions began to spill over. Slovenian riot police on Friday night used tear gas to push back a group of migrants at Harmica, a Croatian border crossing about 20 miles west of the capital, Zagreb.

Europe is struggling to handle its largest flow of migrants since the aftermath of World War II.

Source: MENA