More Austria-bound refugees start march from Budapest

Hundreds of refugees in Hungary have started marching toward the Austrian border as a refugee crisis deepens in the European country.

According to reports on Saturday, at least 500 asylum seekers started their journey on foot from Keleti railway station, the main international and inter-city railway terminal in the Hungarian capital city of Budapest, toward the Austrian border.

Hungary's police chief said buses were no longer being provided to move refugees to the Austrian border, saying that the measure that brought thousands overnight and on Saturday morning was a "one-off."

"The provision of buses towards Austria was a one-off and there will no be more vehicles sent to refugees walking along the road" towards Vienna, Karoly Papp told a news conference, quoted by state news agency MTI.

On Friday, Hungarian officials used 90 buses to transport thousands of asylum-seekers to the Austrian border.

Commenting on the decision to provide buses for the marching refugees on Friday, Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said, “The situation at Keleti train station, on the highways and on the train lines threatened to shut down part of Hungary’s transportation system, which led to the decision to take the migrants to the Hungarian side of the border.”

Earlier on Saturday, the Austrian Interior Ministry announced that some 6,500 asylum seekers had marched their way into Austria by 1030 GMT, saying the number may rise to 10,000 in the coming days.

The developments came a day after the UN High Commissioner for Refugees urged Europe to relocate 200,000 refugees, saying the continent “is facing a moment of truth.”

“A very preliminary estimate would indicate a potential need to increase relocation opportunities to as many as 200,000 places,” said António Guterres, adding, “Europe cannot go on responding to this crisis with a piecemeal or incremental approach. No country can do it alone, and no country can refuse to do its part.”

The UN estimates that 300,000 people have left the Middle East and Africa for Europe this year, but 2,600 have died while attempting the journey, the majority of them during dangerous voyages across the Mediterranean in rickety boats.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has voiced concern over the worsening refugee crisis facing Europe, saying it “puts us in a different situation when it comes to our legal and moral duties.”

Europe was itself beset with deadly wars and conflicts in the past and thus should remember its own history as it currently addresses the huge influx of asylum seekers, she said.

Some European countries, including England and Germany, have recently voiced readiness to accept thousands of more refugees.

Meanwhile, according to Press TV's correspondent, at least 1,000 refugees have arrived at the Westbahnof train station in Vienna, many of them boarding trains headed to Munich. The Austrian people are donating food, clothes and other basic necessities to the refugee families, who are mostly Syrian. Thousands of others are also expected to arrive at the station. 

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