Croatia puts army on alert after more than 9,000 migrants arrive in two days

After more than 9,000 migrants massed into Croatia in just two days, the government put the army on alert Thursday and said migrants no longer are welcome to use the Balkan country as a route to western Europe.

“Don’t come here anymore. Stay in refugee centers in Serbia and Macedonia and Greece,” Croatian Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic told reporters, the Associated Press reported. “This is not the road to Europe. Buses can’t take you there. It’s a lie.”

Ostojic suggested Croatia might close its borders if faced with thousands more newcomers.

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic called on the army to be on alert and act if needed to protect the border from the migrants, after chaos erupted Thursday on the border with Serbia in a rush to get on the few available buses and trains, the AP said.

Croatia came into the spotlight this week in the ongoing migrant crisis after Hungary closed its border with Serbia with a razor-wire fence and sprayed tear gas to keep the migrants from crossing.  Croatia became an alternate route for those fleeing such nations as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan to make the 1,000-mile-plus trek to Germany and other European Union nations.

Police in Croatia said a total of 9,200 people have entered the country since Wednesday after Hungary blocked them. Authorities were transporting them in trains and buses but became overwhelmed by the influx.

Migrants, upon entry, were being taken to refugee centers where they are registered and can apply for asylum. Most say they don’t want to stay in Croatia but are eager to move on toward western Europe.

In chaotic scenes Thursday, hundreds of people pushed through police lines in Tovarnik, in eastern Croatia, when buses arrived to take them to refugee centers after waiting for hours in the hot sun, the AP said.

European Council President Donald Tusk announced that EU leaders will meet on Wednesday to discuss how to deal with the ongoing migrant and refugee crisis.

Migrants reach Croatia seeking new route to EU

Romania said Thursday that a plan by Hungary to build a 43.5-mile fence along their shared border does “not conform to European Union norms.” Hungary has suggested it may build another fence along its border with Croatia to deter migrants, the AP reported.

Norway said it will donate $7.3 million to Serbia and Macedonia to help them cope with the crisis.

Many of the refugees are heading to Germany, which is expecting 800,000 migrants this year.

The head of the German government department that processes asylum applications resigned Thursday, citing “personal reasons” after his office was criticized for a vast backlog, German news agency DPA reported. The news agency said more than 270,000 applications for asylum were pending at the end of last month.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking at the Frankfurt Auto Show, urged the industry to give opportunities to refugees. “My request to you here, in a successful sector of German industry, is wherever opportunities arise to approach people openly, give them chances," she said.

Also Thursday, the Hannover Medical School said it has seen a number of Syrian refugees who were poisoned after eating mushrooms that apparently resemble edible fungi in their homeland, the AP reported.

Hungarian journalist filmed tripping man carrying migrant child

Speaking to USA TODAY from Damascus, Salma Hakki, a spokesperson for SOS Children’s Villages Syria, said the civil war that began in 2011 has forced many families to leave Syria to seek a better future for their children.

The charity’s work includes distributing food aid and helping unaccompanied children at child-friendly spaces in Damascus and Aleppo, Syria.

“Damascus is considered to be a safe city to live in, but sometimes there are mortars,” Hakki, a Syrian national, said. "People are so worried — they want to have security.”

Speaking of the refugees heading to Europe, she said: “These people are very desperate to find safe places and live away from war and destruction.”

Hakki said the $5,000 cost to get to Europe was not an easy amount for most Syrians to raise.

“They sell all their property and travel to Turkey, endangering themselves to seek better opportunities,” she said.

In another development, the Syrian refugee who was tripped by a Hungarian camerawoman last week in an incident that sparked global outrage is starting a new life in Spain.

Osama Abdul Mohsen was running from authorities at the Serbia-Hungary border holding his 7-year-old son Zaid when journalist Petra Laszlo stuck out her leg and sent them flying.

Lazlo, who worked for N1TV, a Hungarian channel run by the far-right Jobbik party, was fired.

Mohsen, who worked as a soccer coach in Syria, arrived in Madrid on Wednesday with Zaid and another of his sons Mohamed, 18, after a Spanish soccer coaching school offered them accommodations, El Mundo reported.

Spain has agreed to take in more than 17,000 refugees.