Tensions rise as migrant numbers grow

Tensions are building among thousands of migrants heading north through Balkan states as their route to Western Europe is stalled by new controls, reports BBC.

Croatia had asked its northern neighbour Slovenia to accept 5,000 migrants daily, but Slovenia said it would only take half that number.

The move has led to a build-up of people on Croatia`s border with Serbia.

An official told the BBC that Croatia could run out of room in its transit camps within days.

Buses crammed with people were backed up in Serbia on Sunday, and tempers flared between frustrated migrants and overstretched police officers.

Overnight, many were forced to wait in the cold and the rain.

Thousands of asylum seekers are travelling north through the Balkans, with most aiming to reach Austria, Germany and other EU states.

Hungary, citing security concerns, has closed its borders with Serbia and Croatia, forcing migrants to switch to a slower route via Slovenia.

Explaining Slovenia`s new restrictions on Sunday, Interior Ministry State Secretary Bostjan Sefic said its northern neighbour Austria was only accepting a maximum of 1,500 people a day.

He said that Slovenia "cannot accept unlimited numbers of migrants if we know that they cannot continue their journey".

"If we would accept 5,000 migrants per day that would mean 35,000 would be in Slovenia in 10 days," he said. "That would be unacceptable."

About 5,000 migrants spent a cold night in a transit camp in Opatovac, eastern Croatia.

Over the border in Serbia, thousands had been kept in about 50 buses since early on Sunday waiting to cross to Croatia.

"We are waiting here four hours on the bus," said Muhammad Samin from Afghanistan. "The weather is too cold. We wear lots of shirts. The children are also in the cold. No food."

The migrants - many from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq - have already spent weeks walking from Turkey, via Greece, Macedonia and Serbia.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said the new route through Slovenia was prolonging the ordeal for thousands of people.

"The decision by Hungary to close its border has certainly added to the suffering and misery and the length of the journey for these desperate people," said UNHCR regional spokesman Babar Baloch.

"There will be challenges if the process becomes slow or we have a backlog of people."

More than 600,000 people, most of them Syrians, have reached Europe so far this year compared to just over 200,000 for the whole of 2014.

Germany has said it expects 800,000 asylum seekers this year, but it is believed the number could be as high as 1.5 million.