German Chancellor criticises closure of Balkans route for migrants

The closure of the Balkans route for migrants heading for Europe has been criticised by the German Chancellor, who describes it as “unsustainable”. Macedonian officials have closed the border with Greece, while Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia have also imposed tough restrictions. Austria is another country that earlier imposed limits. Angela Merkel says nations should not act individually but collectively, so Greece is not left to deal with the huge numbers of migrants blocked in its territory. But Austria, for example, argues a clear message needs to be sent to stop more migrants from coming. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));Baby among latest migrant drownings off Turkey …Posted by euronews on Thursday, 10 March 2016 Negotiations continue over a complex EU-Turkey plan whereby Ankara would take back migrants in exchange for the EU resettling an equal number of Syrian refugees from Turkey. But human rights groups and the UN have warned that may breach international law, and now a Turkish minister says the deal would not cover migrants already in Greece but only new arrivals after any agreement is signed. There is now a bottleneck of more than 15,000 migrants along the Greek-Macedonian border. One migrant, Nidal from Syria, told reporters: “I’m sick of this, so tired and bored of this, just waiting for nothing. “I wait and wait and wait, and then there is nothing. I know that there is nothing at the end but I am waiting.” There is rising concern about the plight of the migrants at, including hundreds of children, in cold and wet conditions. Rain at Idomeni border camp making life miserable for 13K trapped asylum seekers & migrants as Balkan borders close. pic.twitter.com/qcivbe5GUQ— Peter Bouckaert (@bouckap) March 9, 2016 Christian Reynders from Doctors Without Borders said: “We fear that the number of children suffering from these conditions, these particular conditions, the humidity, the smoke inhalation, it will cause them severe damage to their lungs.” And still thousands of migrants keep arriving. Has Brussels dropped idea of Turkey joining EU? Bloc's leaders ‘turning a blind eye’ to Turkey’s press crackdown https://t.co/oG8SsLGc8I— Seamus Kearney (@seamuskearney_) March 9, 2016 Migrants stuck in Greek makeshift camp vow to stay put despite EU-Turkey deal https://t.co/1JKyBZSR5X— Seamus Kearney (@seamuskearney_) March 8, 2016 EU leaders torn over needing Turkish help with migration crisis https://t.co/XcRP6Fw9ic— Seamus Kearney (@seamuskearney_) March 7, 2016 Meet Noor, shes 24 and from #Syria. Back home she was a concert pianist. Here in #idomeni she's stuck in the mud. pic.twitter.com/MV1JluglL4— MSF Sea (@MSF_Sea) March 9, 2016 It took this boy's family 2 weeks to get to the front of the line to cross #Idomeni – #Gevgelija UNICEFMK pic.twitter.com/UK6yNTismc

— UNICEF (UNICEF) March 8, 2016 Some 1,000 people arrive in #Idomeni daily. HRC_SAMARITES continue to provide healthcare & relief. #ProtectHumanity pic.twitter.com/mmM2WoMB1F

— IFRC (Federation) March 8, 2016 Syrian women, 9-months pregnant, slept on wet ground yest. Only here in search of safety for kids #Idomeni #IWD pic.twitter.com/tghdTN2gst— Fotis Filippou (@Fotis_Filippou) March 8, 2016 A child is surrounded by razor-topped wire at the Greek-Macedonian border #Idomenihttps://t.co/72IeSgC10c pic.twitter.com/o61r79J5b5— Brendan McDonald (@7piliers) March 8, 2016