Warning Shots Fired on Migrants at Hungarian Border

The Hungarian-Serbian border has been the site of many recent attempted crossings as migrants seek sanctuary within the EU. (Wikimedia Commons)

A Hungarian border security officer fired three warning shots as around 60 refugees tried to cross the border from Serbia into Hungary on January 28. The migrants attempted to break through a closed checkpoint in Roszke, a southern border village. 

 “One of the armed security guards fired three warning shots into the air. At this time, the entering group stopped, a significant number turned around and ran back to Serbian territory,” said the head of public security at Hungary's Interior Ministry.

Later that day, Serbian police arrested 37 people for attempting to cross the border illegally, and Hungarian police detained four migrants on the scene.

“They shoot bullets in the air and people run,” said Mohab, an immigrant from Morocco, in an interview with Al-Jazeera. In addition, Mohab reported that migrants are treated brutally by Hungarian border patrol, and officers will often hit migrants or steal their belongings.

This week’s border skirmish is part of the overall influx of migrants into Hungary, which has grown steadily since the refugee crisis in 2015. While the refugees cross into Hungary from Serbia, many of them originate from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, or Morocco. According to Hungarian officials, The number of refugees traveling from the Balkan region attempting to cross into western Europe has increased noticeably in recent weeks.

Currently, thousands of refugees live in camps in Serbia, 6,000 of whom reside in government-operated refugee camps. All seek passage to the European Union. Because Hungary lies on the EU’s border, it could provide passage for many migrants seeking to reach western Europe. However, Hungary’s anti-immigration policies have forced migrants to seek a different route.

In 2015, the same checkpoint in Roszke was the site of a riot in which police held back hundreds of refugees attempting to break through the Hungarian border. This event occurred at the start of the refugee crisis, and the country responded by tightening its policies and constructing a steel fence on the Serbian border to keep out migrants. 

Despite being a popular entry point for migrants wishing to settle in western Europe, Hungary is rated the third least welcoming nation in the world in an index measuring how open countries are to migrants. In 2018, Hungary rejected all but 387 requests for asylum.

These anti-immigrant policies stem from a recent resurgence in right-wing populist political movements in Hungary and other European states. These movements emphasize a growing fear of losing the traditional European identity to the multiculturalism that migrants might bring. Hungary’s current Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is serving his third term, campaigned heavily on an anti-immigration platform consistent with the emerging right-wing rhetoric in the country.