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Werner Faymann

Austria, Germany agree to take in migrants from Hungary

Melanie Eversley
USA TODAY

Leaders in Austria and Germany have agreed to take in migrants from troubled Hungary who approach their border, the Austrian chancellor said.

Migrants begin walking towards the Austrian border on September 4, 2015, in Bicske, near Budapest, Hungary.

In a statement posted to Facebook, Werner Faymann said that the agreement had been reached after communication with Austrian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, "due to today's plight at the Hungarian border."

Earlier Friday, hundreds of frustrated migrants left Budapest on foot and began walking toward the Austrian and German borders, their numbers stopping traffic on highways, Hungary Today reported. At a railway station in Bicske, about 20 miles west of Budapest, groups of migrants refused to be transported to a reception center, the news organization reported.

The migrants were passengers on a train that was stopped at Bicske, but said they preferred to go to Germany rather than a refugee camp, according to Hungary Today.

They said they were tricked into getting on the train that they thought was headed for Western Europe, where they hope to seek asylum.

The announcement from Faymann came after a day of increased tensions among refugees attempting to leave Hungary.

"Hundreds of refugees are currently on foot from Hungary to Austria," read a statement released by the Austrian interior ministry translated into English. "Police and Red Cross are prepared for the arrival of refugees. Every refugee in Austria can apply for asylum."

The statement further read, "A solution of the current situation can only be ensured in the spirit of European solidarity."

While the crisis came to a head on Friday, it has been building up for weeks.

The migrants are among hundreds of thousands fleeing war, poverty and prosecutions. Among them are Syrians running from Islamic State, Iraqis, Eritreans, Nigerians and Albanians.

Frustrated and desperate, migrants in Hungary begin moving west on foot

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