Thousands of desperate migrants en route to the EU since Saturday

Published on 24 august 2015

Thousands of desperate migrants en route to the EU since Saturday

Thousands of migrants make their way through no man's land from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia into
Serbia.

Thousands of migrants make theirway through no man's land from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia into

Serbia.

Most of these people have fled conflict and upheaval in Syria and Iraq.

They hope to travel through Serbia and into EU member state Hungary. Once there, they can travel freely across the internal borders of the European Union.

One of the migrants said it took him seven days to get here from Iraq.

Ahmed travelled here from Syria.

"I'm expecting just to cross, I just want to cross to continue my journey, just want to cross," he explained. "My final destination is Germany, hopefully," Ahmed added.

Despite Hungary building a border fence to stem the flow, that is where they are headed. It's a gateway to Germany, Sweden and other countries through Europe's visa-free Schengen zone.

A makeshift reception centre in the southern Serbian town of Presevo has seen more than 7,000 people since Saturday.

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said many had spent three desperate days on Greece's northern border before continuing.

The Presevo centre will give them medical aid, food, and papers to legalise their increasingly desperate journey deep into the European Union.

Source: Euronews