Chaos feared as migrants stuck in rain on Balkan border

Thousands of migrants are stranded in heavy rain at the Serbia-Croatia frontier, with volunteers urgently calling for help from authorities after a sharp slowdown in border crossings.

A surge of 10,000 migrants crossed from Macedonia into Serbia overnight and headed for the Croatian border, where 3,000 had gathered by Monday morning, says Mirjana Ivanovic Milenkovski with the UN refugee agency in Serbia.

An AFP reporter describes scenes of chaos at the Berkasovo border, where people are sitting in the mud trying to light fires to stay warm and children walk barefoot, lacking proper clothing for the torrential rain and cold temperatures.

“This is over our capacity. We urgently need Serbian authorities to react. There is no one from the authorities here. We need police, army, some tents, food,” says Jan Pinos, coordinating a team of Czech volunteers.

He says there is “increasing tension” and a large number of pregnant women and children, including a baby that nearly died overnight in the chaos and crowds.

“It’s a matter of time before this is out of control,” Pinos tells AFP.

Hundreds are setting off on foot through cornfields trying to find another way across the border, while more continue to arrive at the crossing point, walking or by taxi, after being dropped off by Serbian buses around 3.5 kilometers (two miles) away.

— AFP