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Hungarian authorities roll razor-wired railroad car onto last unofficial Serbia-Hungary crossing

Xinhua, September 15, 2015 Adjust font size:

Hungarian authorities rolled a razor-wired railraod car onto the open track that marked the last open point on the Serbian-Hungarian border at Roszke on Monday evening, according to local media report.

The car, halted about one meter back from the 175-kilometer-long fence while an additional barrier was adjusted on wheel-level, was set into place around 8 pm CET, ahead of Hungary's stringent new law turning illegal crossings into a felony offence taking effect at midnight.

Police meanwhile have been directing disappointed refugees towards a nearby official crossing point, where, according to wire service MTI, small groups of 5 to10 people were being let through and directed to buses waiting to take them to registration centers.

As of Monday evening some 500 refugees were lined up at the crossing point, patiently waiting for their turn, with the end of the line backing into Serbia.

With this latest barrier migrants are expected to only be able to enter Hungary at one of several official checkpoints.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, speaking on television channel TV2, refused to consider the idea of Hungary establishing a longer-term refugee camp and participating in the relocation of refugees.

Instead, he called on all border control forces to reduce their number altogether, and especially the number in Hungary.

"The border is not being hermetically sealed," said Orban.

Crossing anywhere other than officially crossing points has never been permitted. Signs will be attached to the fence, he said, pointing to the nearest crossing where asylum-seekers can apply.

However, he warned that refugees who failed to submit applications in Serbia would be rejected since Serbia was secure and laws require submission in the first secure country. He reiterated his argument that most migrants were not really refugees anyway, having sought refuge in previous countries they traveled through, which technically denies them the chance of claiming refuge elsewhere.

"These people are not running for their lives," he said. The Serbian, Hungarian, or Austrian standards of living are not good enough for them, "... they're not seeking security but living standards, and want to live a German way of life," said the Hungarian prime minister. Endit