Hundreds of migrants forced off train they thought was heading to a new life

Hundreds of migrants have been forced off a train taking them through Hungary as officials try to take them to a holding camp. The refugees stormed the train at Budapest’s Keleti station thinking it was heading to the Austrian border and the start of a new life. But instead it came to a halt and the migrants were told to get out at Bicske, where there is a reception centre. There were reports of weeping women with young children and fathers being taken away in handcuffs. Others banged on the train windows from the outside and shouted “No camp, no camp”, while dozens of riot police looked on.

The fact is, we don’t want to stay in Hungary. If we stay in Hungary there is no work. We can’t study. The language is very strange, and they’re not helping refugees

Refugee Azad Darwish, 23

The incident came at the end of a two-day stand-off with police who had refused to let migrants enter the station in Budapest, even though some had bought tickets. There were scuffles with police and some migrants had threatened to walk the 105 miles (170km) to the border with Austria if they were not allowed to get on the train. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban insisted his country had done everything to stick to EU rules on border protection and revealed the army would be deployed to defend Hungary’s border with Serbia. He told a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels that the migrants, mostly fleeing war in Syria and Afghanistan, were “not a European problem” but a “German problem”.

Fair distribution of at least 100,000 refugees among EU states is what we need to do

European Council president Donald Tusk

Europe bicske migrant