Hungarian Police Use Tear Gas And Pepper Spray On Migrants And Refugees At The Serbian Border Wednesday Sep 16,2015

 

Hungarian police used tear gas and water cannons on hundreds of migrants who broke through a razor wire fence on the border with Serbia on Wednesday Sep 16,2015, while migrants prevented from moving through Hungary increasingly began taking a longer route into Western Europe through Croatia.

Frustrated migrants blocked on the Serbian side of the border threw plastic water bottles and rocks at helmeted riot police and chanted demands that the border be re-opened. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons."We fled wars and violence and did not expect such brutality and inhumane treatment in Europe," said Amir Hassan, an Iraqi who was soaking wet from the water cannon and trying to wash tear gas from his eyes. "Shame on you, Hungarians," he shouted pointing in the direction of the shielded Hungarian policemen who were firing volleys of tear gas canisters directly into the crowd.

Hungarian border police stand guard opposite refugees standing behind a fence at the Hungarian border with Serbia near the town of Horgos, Serbia

The clashes took place at a small border crossing in the Serbian village Horgos, a short distance from the main border crossing into Hungary. Serbian authorities sent ambulances to the site but it wasn't immediately clear how many people were injured

Before the tensions escalated, some women had 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, but no one made it through

Hungarian authorities also said Wednesday that they have arrested a total of 519 migrants who tried to cross the border since tough new laws went into effect on Tuesday Sep 15,2015 that make it a crime to cross from Serbia anywhere other than at legal checkpoints.
Authorities launched 46 criminal prosecutions and found two Iraqi men guilty, the first convictions based on the new laws.
Two men were expelled from Hungary, with one banned from re-entering the country for one year, the other banned for two years

Drone footage captures the tear gas, tanks, tents and sheer scale of the Hungarian border fence keeping desperate migrants out

 

 

 

Note

In the past few months, Hungary has become a main entry point into the European Union for migrants, many of them war refugees from Syria and Iraq, with more than 200,000 entering the country so far this year. Almost all entered from the southern border with Serbia and passed through Hungary quickly on their way to Germany or other wealthy Western European nations.