Austria commences construction of border fence to Slovenia

Austria has commenced construction on a short fence at its shared border to Slovenia on Monday as part of long-discussed measures to cope with large numbers of refugees wishing to enter the country.

The fence at the town of Spielfeld, one of the major points of entry for the refugees into Austria in the past months, has seen delivery of its components to the site, with early work such as the driving of posts into the ground now underway.

A number of 38 members of the Austrian Armed Forces are to sporadically help the manufacturer of the mesh fence in its construction, which when completed will be almost four km long and 2.5 metres high.

The use of concrete will not be required for its posts, so should the fence no longer be needed it can be disassembled relatively simply leaving no particular damage to the surrounding nature.

The construction is to take place in several stages, as negotiations with owners of land along which the fence will run has reportedly not yet been finalized.

Following a lull in refugee arrivals at the Spielfeld site in late November and the first week of December largely due to winter weather, local media reported Monday that 1,200 refugees were again at the municipality of Sentilj just across the Slovenian border, which they were waiting to cross. Endit