HORGOS, Serbia (AP) — The latest developments as European governments rush to cope with the huge number of people moving across Europe. All times local (CET):
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7:35 p.m.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he has been “shocked” to see how refugees and migrants have been treated, and he calls it unacceptable.
He said that he had spoken by phone with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Ban also singled out Syria, saying that “people facing barrel bombs and brutality in their country will continue to seek life in another.”
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7:25 p.m.
Serbia’s interior minister says additional police troops will be sent to the border with Hungary following clashes involving migrants and Hungarian police.
Nebojsa Stefanovic said that “the idea is to prevent further attacks on the Hungarian police from our territory and to separate in a humane and decent way migrants from the fences and the Hungarian police.”
Stefanovic adds that “we will do our best to make sure there are no more incidents, but we would like to see our Hungarian colleagues treat the migrants less aggressively.”
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7:20 p.m.
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic says that Hungary has asked in a diplomatic note that Serbia “stop what it (Hungary) described as armed migrants from crossing the state border.”
Dacic says Serbia will send a note asking Hungary to “prevent any possibility of the situation such as happened today when tear gas was fired on our territory.”
Migrants hurled objects, including stones and bricks at Hungarian police from the Serbian side of the border. Hungarian police responded with tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons.
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7:10 p.m.
The Czech government’s committee for the rights of foreigners has condemned the practice of authorities charging refugees in detention centers for food and accommodation.
Committee head Magda Faltova says the practice of charging migrants about $10 a day is “illegal.”
The committee also called on authorities to stop detaining those who can’t be returned to the countries from which they came. It also says there’s no reason to keep them in detention for 42 days as happens now and they should be immediately released.
The migrants mostly use the Czech Republic as a transit country on the way to wealthy EU countries.
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6:55 p.m.
Croatia’s deputy prime minister says more than 300 migrants have entered the country from Serbia using a new route into the European Union after Hungary sealed its border.
Ranko Ostojic said authorities expect around 4,000 migrants to arrive in the coming days en route toward richer EU countries such as Germany or Scandinavian nations.
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6:35 p.m.
Baltic officials have detained scores of migrants for staying illegally and attempting move on to Finland with forged documents.
Estonian police spokesman Ivo Utsar said they caught 11 Afghanis at the Tallinn harbor as they attempted to board a Finland-bound ferry with forged documents.
Officials in Latvia have detained 17 Iraqi migrants headed for Finland for illegally staying in the country. In Lithuania, a Latvian car with five Iraqi migrants was stopped en route to Finland.
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6:20 p.m.
A spokesman for the Hungarian government says those who tried to push past a border post present a very real danger to his country.
Zoltan Kovacs told journalists “these people are not peaceful. They are not simply wanting to go through Hungary. They carry a danger and that nature is very clear.”
He asked “do you believe that armed refugees would be attacking police lines and trying to come and enter a country? I don’t believe so!”
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6:05 p.m.
Serbia’s foreign ministry says Hungary has closed traffic over the main border crossing between the two countries.
A statement said the Horgos crossing will remain “temporarily, partially closed for thirty days.” It adds that Hungary said the situation at the border crossing “is endangering public security in Hungary.”
Hundreds of people trying to reach the European Union have been trapped in the border area after Hungary closed its border with Serbia on Tuesday to stem the influx.
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5:50 p.m.
Austria’s interior minister says the country will start selective controls on its border with Slovenia within the next few hours because the border situation with Hungary has “calmed significantly.”
Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner told the Austria Press Agency that anyone wishing to apply for asylum still could do so. At the same time, she said Austria was looking to send “a clear signal” that the country cannot handle an uncontrolled mass influx of migrants.
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5:35 p.m.
Serbia is protesting Hungary’s use of tear gas and water cannons against migrants at their shared border.
Serbian minister Aleksandar Vulin expressed “the harshest possible protest” in a live statement on Serbian state TV from the Horgos 2 border crossing where the clashes took place earlier.
Vulin came to the border crossing after the clash and invited refugees to return to the nearby town of Kanjiza to get food, water, medical aid and rest.
He said the migrants’ frustration was understandable after Hungary closed the border. Vulin says “Hungary must show it is ready and capable to accept these people.”
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5:25 p.m.
The chaotic clashes at the Hungarian-Serbian border have eased but left people there stunned.
Several people fainted, including a woman holding a baby. Children and women cried while young men with scarves over their faces hurled stones as they charged toward Hungarian police through thick tear gas smoke.
Police fired tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons at the crowd as some tried to push through a border post. Ambulances with sirens wailing came from Serbia to treat the injured.
Serbian border policemen watched the clashes from a distance, some shaking their heads as tear gas canisters landed in their country.
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5:15 p.m.
The European Union is rethinking a plan to share 120,000 refugees after Hungary refused to have tens of thousands of refugees there redistributed among its EU partners.
The European Commission has proposed to relocate refugees from Greece, Italy and Hungary to other nations over the next two years. There was no immediate explanation for Hungary’s stance.
Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn of Luxembourg, which holds the EU presidency, told EU lawmakers there would be an “important change” in the plan before it’s debated by interior ministers on Tuesday.
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5:05 p.m.
Hungary says it’s asking Serbian authorities to take action against those attacking Hungarian riot police from the Serbian side of the border.
Clashes have broken out, with migrants throwing rocks and bottles at Hungarian riot police and the police replying with tear gas and water cannons.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto says Hungarian authorities have sent the crackdown request to the Serbian government. Hungary closed its border with Serbia on Tuesday, creating a bottleneck of people fleeing violence in their homelands.
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4:50 p.m.
Refugees are shocked and angry after Hungarian police sprayed tear gas and water cannons at those trying to push through a border post.
Several people received medical treatment from the Serbian ambulance service at the scene of clashes near Horgos. Most were suffering from the tear gas but one young man had a bloody leg.
“We fled wars and violence and did not expect such brutality and inhumane treatment in Europe,” said Amir Hassan of Iraq, soaking wet from the water cannon and trying to wash tear gas from his eyes.
“Shame on you Hungarians!” he shouted, pointing toward Hungarian police.
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4:30 p.m.
Serbian police have sent ambulances to the border after Hungarian police sprayed tear gas and water cannons at migrants trying to break through a border post. It was not clear how many people were injured. Many migrants are crying from the tear gas.
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4:15 p.m.
British Home Secretary Theresa May says Britain will welcome the first group of Syrian refugees allowed in under a new resettlement program within days.
She told Parliament the refugees will come from camps surrounding Syria and the government is pressing hard to organize more arrivals in the coming weeks.
Prime Minister David Cameron said last week Britain would take in up to 20,000 refugees in the next five years — a substantial expansion of its resettlement program.
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4:05 p.m.
The Czech Republic’s human rights minister says his country should help a much bigger number of refugees.
The Czech government has rejected a plan by the European Union for introducing mandatory quotas for accepting migrants. It has so far said the country was ready to accept 2,000 refugees.
But minister Jiri Dienstbier says the Czech Republic should show solidarity and share the refugee burden on a voluntary basis, possibly accepting 7,000-15,000 people.
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4 p.m.
Hungarian border police have again sprayed tear gas at migrants along the border with Serbia, triggering a panicky stampede by the crowd, which included many women and children, away from the border gate.
Many people were in tears trying to wash away the gas from their eyes.
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3:50 p.m.
There’s a tense standoff at the border between Hungary and Serbia after migrants broke through a razor-wire border fence and Hungarian forces hit them with pepper spray.
The Hungarian forces blocked the migrants from entering near the Serbian town of Horgos.
Some migrant women have pushed to the front of the crowd and held small babies and children above their heads as they faced police in an obvious appeal for mercy.
Hungary on Tuesday shut down its border with Serbia, saying it had to protect the European Union’s external border.
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3:40 p.m.
The German government says the leaders of Germany and Turkey have discussed the migration crisis and called for stepped-up efforts to achieve a “political solution” to end Syria’s civil war.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone. The government said Merkel praised the “enormous Turkish efforts” to take care of nearly 2 million Syrian refugees in Turkey. It added that the two leaders agreed to increase cooperation on resolving the refugee crisis, with an emphasis on combatting traffickers.
Turkey is a main point of departure for Syrians and others seeking a better life in Europe, with many setting off for Greece’s eastern islands aboard flimsy boats.
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3:20 p.m.
Hungarian police have used tear gas after hundreds of migrants broke through a razor-wire fence on the border with Serbia.
The police stopped the crowd, who threw plastic water bottles at them. There were no reports of injuries. Several people were seen with tears in their eyes from the gas.
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3: 15 p.m.
Germany has seen a decline in the number of new migrants arriving since it introduced border checks on the Austrian frontier, though the influx is still significant.
Germany imposed the checks Sunday, saying it wanted to ensure that refugee arrivals were more orderly and that newcomers were registered. Until then, trains full of migrants traveled straight to Munich, where 12,200 arrived Saturday and another 7,100 came Sunday.
Interior Ministry spokesman Tobias Plate said the numbers “have decreased very significantly” but are still in the thousands every day.
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3 p.m.
A Hungarian court has found an Iraqi man guilty of “illegally crossing the border,” the first conviction based on a new law meant to stop the huge flow of migrants into Hungary.
Hungarian media reported the judge ordered the man expelled from Hungary and banned him from returning for one year. It was expected that he would be returned to Serbia, the country that many migrants have used on their way into Hungary.
The accused said he was unaware that illegal border crossing was a crime, but the judge rejected his argument, saying “ignorance of the law doesn’t excuse anybody.”
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2:50 p.m.
Blocked by Hungary, migrants in Serbia have started entering neighboring Croatia. But that brings them into a whole new danger zone — former mine fields along the country’s front line in its 1991-95 war.
Croatia’s Mine Action Center says there are still 500 square kilometers (193 square miles) of suspicious areas throughout the country, but all have been clearly marked.
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2 p.m.
Syrian President Bashar Assad is blaming Europe for the migration crisis, saying it’s a direct result of the West’s support for extremists in Syria over the past four years.
In an interview with Russian media, Assad accused Europe of supporting “terrorism” and providing “protection for terrorists, calling them moderates.”
“If you are worried about them (refugees), stop supporting terrorists,” he said, addressing Europe.
He also accused Europe of having “unacceptable” double standards.
Assad says “how can one be indignant about a drowned child and remain silent about the deaths of thousands of children, elderly people, women and men killed by terrorists in Syria?”
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1:45 p.m.
In Horgos, Serbia, confusion reigned among migrants on whether to remain at the border with Hungary or leave for Croatia.
Hundreds were seen walking toward the crossing with Hungary around noon, while smaller groups walked in the opposite direction after hearing rumors that buses would take them toward the Croatian border. AP reporters saw no buses.
At the border, people hid from the blazing sun by sleeping under parked cars or staying inside small tents. Children and babies cried while men walked for miles to buy water and food.
Ahmed Sami, a Syrian father from Aleppo, said “I don’t know what to do, stay here or try some other way to cross the border?”
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1:30 p.m.
Hungary’s foreign minister says the razor-wire fence on its border with Serbia is needed to secure the European Union’s external border and will remain as long as large numbers of migrants keep trying to enter Hungary.
Peter Szijjarto told The Associated Press that “only a physical obstacle” could help Hungary protect its border as long as migrants were able to pour into fellow EU member Greece and make their way north.
He urged the EU to send police forces to help Greece control the influx, to which Hungary would make a “massive contribution.”
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1:15 p.m.
There was joy and relief for some Syrian refugees who finally crossed into Germany.
Mohammed Al Zain, a 22-year-old economics student from Aleppo, walked into the German town of Freilassing from the Austrian city of Salzburg after being stuck waiting for 12 hours for his train to get permission to cross the border.
Squeezing his 7-year-old brother into a bear hug, he says border guards “told us ‘Welcome to Germany’ and we are very happy right now.”
Zain says “me and my brother, I didn’t see him for one year. Finally (we are) meeting here.”
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12:40 p.m.
German police say traffickers appear to be changing tack: instead of taking migrants across the border into Germany, they are dumping them in Austria and telling them to walk over the bridges themselves.
Germany put controls on its border Sunday in an effort to catch smugglers and bring some order to the influx of tens of thousands.
Federal police spokesman Thimad Schweikl told The Associated Press that more than 1,000 migrants had crossed into Germany on foot in the southern region of Passau in the past 24 hours.
He says they were brought to the bridges in groups of 20 to 40 by traffickers seeking to avoid arrest.
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12:20 p.m.
Greek police say about 5,000 people have crossed the country’s northern border with Macedonia in the last 24 hours.
Thousands have been crossing every day, making their way north across the Balkans overland to more prosperous European Union countries such as Germany and Sweden.
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12 p.m.
Austrian Federal Railways has stopped all train traffic from Salzburg, near the German border, into Germany itself, citing a request from German authorities.
Thousands of migrants and refugees have taken trains from Salzburg to Munich for more than a week. Most of the people streaming into Austria from Hungary have continued on to Germany.
Railway officials say trains traveling from Salzburg through a small section of southern Germany to Austria’s western province of Tyrol will continue operating.
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11:15 p.m.
Croatia’s prime minister has criticized Hungary’s decision to seal its border with Serbia for migrants and says Croatia will not do the same.
Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic told Parliament “we are ready to accept and direct those people.” Milanovic says 150 people have already crossed into Croatia to avoid Hungary’s closed border.
Referring to Hungary’s fence, Milanovic says “barbed wire in Europe in the 21st century is not an answer, it’s a threat.”
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10:45 a.m.
Greece’s coast guard has picked up hundreds of people from the sea near eastern Aegean islands as they attempted to reach Greece clandestinely from the nearby Turkish coast.
The coast guard said it rescued 773 people in 19 separate search-and-rescue operations in the last 24 hours off the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Rhodes. The figures do not include the hundreds more who manage to reach the islands themselves.
More than 250,000 people have reached Greece clandestinely so far this year, the vast majority of them Syrians or Afghans fleeing conflict at home.
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9:45 a.m.
The first groups of migrants have started arriving in Croatia — a new European Union entry point after Hungary sealed off its border with Serbia with massive coils of barbed wire.
About 80 people crossed from the Serbian border town of Sid, following an all-night bus ride from the southern border with Macedonia.
