Countries along the migrant route through the Balkans have begun tightening restrictions by accepting only those fleeing war, causing a backlog of hundreds of people Thursday on the Greek-Macedonian border.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing conflict and poverty across the Mediterranean have travelled up from Greece through the Balkans this year, aiming to start new lives in more prosperous northern European countries.
But officials in Balkan countries at the heart of the migrant route said Thursday they were restricting the crossings of economic migrants and allowing in only those fleeing conflict.
"Croatia is accepting migrants only from war-affected countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan," a Croatian police spokeswoman Marina Mandic told AFP.
"Croatia informed other countries that so-called economic migrants will not be able to pass through the so-called Balkans route," she said.
Similar statements were made by Serbia and Macedonia.
AFP reporters said 2,000 people were gathered at the Greek-Macedonia border waiting to cross.
A Greek police source nearby said no migrants at all had been allowed to enter Macedonia since the morning, but a source at the interior ministry in the capital Skopje said the influx would soon restart.
The latest restrictions appeared to stem from a request from Slovenia to Croatia to take back a group of economic migrants who had crossed their shared border.
"Slovenian police proposed to Croatia yesterday, based on our bilateral agreement, the return of 160 migrants from Morocco who turned out to be typical economic migrants," Slovenian Interior Minister's spokesman Bostjan Sefic told reporters.
"I've been informed that Croatia has formally rejected the return of those migrants. Therefore, they will remain in the migrant flow since we cannot return them."
He denied Slovenia was returning all economic migrants, but countries further down the migrant trail subsequently tightened controls for fear of new arrivals getting stuck on their territory.
- 'Protecting our state' -
"Economic migrants cannot enter into Serbia from Macedonia," the Serbian minister in charge of refugees, Aleksandar Vulin, was quoted as saying by the Tanjug state news agency.
"We have to protect our state so we have implemented reciprocal measures towards those who in Croatia and Slovenia are considered unwelcome," Vulin said.
A spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) Melita Sunjic said Serbia had since Wednesday been allowing in refugees only from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq who had papers to prove their origins.
"They turn back all the others to Macedonia," she said.
The Macedonian interior ministry source said that since late Wednesday they were allowing across from Greece "only those migrants who are from countries in conflict or hit by military activities".
The source said the decision came after they were informed by Croatia and Serbia that migrants who were not from war zones would be returned.
The developments on the migrant route come after a Syrian passport was found next to the body of one of the perpetrators of Friday night's deadly attacks in Paris by the Islamic State (IS) group.
The document, which has not been authenticated, was registered in the Greek island of Leros on October 3 and later in Serbia and Croatia.
In the face of mounting security fears linked to the influx of migrants and refugees, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Thursday said some of the suspects in the Paris attacks took advantage of the migrant chaos to "slip in" to France unnoticed.
He warned that Europe's cherished passport-free Schengen zone would be "called into question... if Europe does not take responsibility" for its borders.
Countries along the migrant route through the Balkans have begun tightening restrictions by accepting only those fleeing war, causing a backlog of hundreds of people Thursday on the Greek-Macedonian border.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing conflict and poverty across the Mediterranean have travelled up from Greece through the Balkans this year, aiming to start new lives in more prosperous northern European countries.
But officials in Balkan countries at the heart of the migrant route said Thursday they were restricting the crossings of economic migrants and allowing in only those fleeing conflict.
“Croatia is accepting migrants only from war-affected countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan,” a Croatian police spokeswoman Marina Mandic told AFP.
“Croatia informed other countries that so-called economic migrants will not be able to pass through the so-called Balkans route,” she said.
Similar statements were made by Serbia and Macedonia.
AFP reporters said 2,000 people were gathered at the Greek-Macedonia border waiting to cross.
A Greek police source nearby said no migrants at all had been allowed to enter Macedonia since the morning, but a source at the interior ministry in the capital Skopje said the influx would soon restart.
The latest restrictions appeared to stem from a request from Slovenia to Croatia to take back a group of economic migrants who had crossed their shared border.
“Slovenian police proposed to Croatia yesterday, based on our bilateral agreement, the return of 160 migrants from Morocco who turned out to be typical economic migrants,” Slovenian Interior Minister’s spokesman Bostjan Sefic told reporters.
“I’ve been informed that Croatia has formally rejected the return of those migrants. Therefore, they will remain in the migrant flow since we cannot return them.”
He denied Slovenia was returning all economic migrants, but countries further down the migrant trail subsequently tightened controls for fear of new arrivals getting stuck on their territory.
– ‘Protecting our state’ –
“Economic migrants cannot enter into Serbia from Macedonia,” the Serbian minister in charge of refugees, Aleksandar Vulin, was quoted as saying by the Tanjug state news agency.
“We have to protect our state so we have implemented reciprocal measures towards those who in Croatia and Slovenia are considered unwelcome,” Vulin said.
A spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) Melita Sunjic said Serbia had since Wednesday been allowing in refugees only from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq who had papers to prove their origins.
“They turn back all the others to Macedonia,” she said.
The Macedonian interior ministry source said that since late Wednesday they were allowing across from Greece “only those migrants who are from countries in conflict or hit by military activities”.
The source said the decision came after they were informed by Croatia and Serbia that migrants who were not from war zones would be returned.
The developments on the migrant route come after a Syrian passport was found next to the body of one of the perpetrators of Friday night’s deadly attacks in Paris by the Islamic State (IS) group.
The document, which has not been authenticated, was registered in the Greek island of Leros on October 3 and later in Serbia and Croatia.
In the face of mounting security fears linked to the influx of migrants and refugees, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Thursday said some of the suspects in the Paris attacks took advantage of the migrant chaos to “slip in” to France unnoticed.
He warned that Europe’s cherished passport-free Schengen zone would be “called into question… if Europe does not take responsibility” for its borders.
