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Refugees at Croatia – Serbia border

Thousands cross into the small town of Tovarnik in Croatia as refugees try hard to venture further into western Europe.

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Croatia - Serbia border/ DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED [Ioana Moldovan]
All the border crossings into Croatia are closed, except one. [Ioana Moldovan/Al Jazeera]
By Ioana Moldovan
Published On 21 Sep 2015

Tovarnik, Croatia – More than 2,000 refugees crossed from Serbia into Tovarnik, a town in the Vukovar-Syrmia county in Croatia, on Sunday.

To handle in the inflow, Croatian authorities established a camp 10km away from the train station in Tovarnik, which has a capacity of only 5,000 people.

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, has requested Croatian authorities keep the refugees at the camp, but local officials claim they don’t have enough resources to hold them at the camp.

At least one train leaves daily with refugees towards the Hungarian border.

Most of the refugees in Tovarnik made the journey from Turkey to Greece, making their way through Macedonia, Serbia and then Croatia.

Croatia - Serbia border/ DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED [Ioana Moldovan]
Some 2,000 refugees arrived in the small town over the past 12 hours from Serbia. [Ioana Moldovan/Al Jazeera]
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Croatia - Serbia border/ DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED [Ioana Moldovan]
Several buses have transported refugees to the Hungarian border. [Ioana Moldovan/Al Jazeera]
Croatia - Serbia border/ DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED [Ioana Moldovan]
Refugees in Tovarnik have been waiting for hours for transport to take them deeper into western Europe. [Ioana Moldovan/Al Jazeera]
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A young Syrian mother changing the diapers of her infant on the platform of Tovarnik train station. [Ioana Moldovan/Al Jazeera]
Croatia - Serbia border/ DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED [Ioana Moldovan]
There has been a lot of frustration over the lack of transport for the refugees, many of whom hope to reach Germany. [Ioana Moldovan/Al Jazeera]
Croatia - Serbia border/ DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED [Ioana Moldovan]
Panicking they will not all be able to get on the train, refugees try to break the police cordon to get on the last two unoccupied carts. [Ioana Moldovan/Al Jazeera]
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Croatia - Serbia border/ DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED [Ioana Moldovan]
Children have been particularly traumatised by the long journey. [Ioana Moldovan/Al Jazeera]
Croatia - Serbia border/ DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED [Ioana Moldovan]
Croatian police officer threatens refugees with pepper spray in order to keep order and to allow children first on the train. [Ioana Moldovan/Al Jazeera]
Croatia - Serbia border/ DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED [Ioana Moldovan]
Refugees that already boarded the train look back at others still trying to make it in. [Ioana Moldovan/Al Jazeera]
Croatia - Serbia border/ DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED [Ioana Moldovan]
Refugees are particularly concerned they would be left behind here. [Ioana Moldovan/Al Jazeera]
Croatia - Serbia border/ DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED [Ioana Moldovan]
Families are particularly concerned about splitting up knowing all too well that they may end up on different sides of the continent. [Ioana Moldovan/Al Jazeera]
Croatia - Serbia border/ DO NOT USE/ RESTRICTED [Ioana Moldovan]
A refugee left behind congratulates the fortunate ones that succeeded. [Ioana Moldovan/Al Jazeera]