Hundreds of Refugees Walking From Hungary to Austria

Hundreds of frustrated refugees who have been stranded for days in Hungary have begun walking the 150 mile journey from Budapest to Vienna.

The Guardian is reporting that the refugees set off from the Hungarian capital on Friday after they were barred from boarding international trains to Austria and Germany. Others being held in a refugee camp in the town of Bicske are also threatening to join the march.

AP reported earlier on Friday that a march of hundreds of refugees which had begun at Budapest's Keleti train station had petered out. However, pictures on social media suggest that many refugees are continuing to walk in a desperate bid to make their way into Austria or Germany.

Has Europe seen such a sad column of refugees, young and old marching with all they have left, since the Balkans war? pic.twitter.com/OuvhpRGOwl

— Emma Graham-Harrison (@_EmmaGH) September 4, 2015

#migrants walk on the Elisabet Bridge in the Budapest today. #AFP ¨Photo by @afpattila pic.twitter.com/YLFn8Ji0kO

— Aurelia BAILLY (@AureliaBAILLY) September 4, 2015

Reuters also reported that around 300 refugees broke out of a camp at the Roszke reception center on Hungary's border with Serbia, and that another 2,300 still being held were also threatening to break out. Hungary has since closed its main border crossing with Serbia.

Elsewhere in Europe, a group of more than 100 refugees staying in 'the jungle' camp in Calais have gone on hunger strike, according to The Guardian. One of the strikers, a refugee named Mohammed from Sudan, said the people in the camp wanted the right to apply for asylum. On the Greek island of Lesbos, around 200 migrants clashed with police and coastguard officials after trying to board a ship, according to Reuters. The group threw stones at police before tear gas was used to disperse the crowd.

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Conor is a staff writer for Newsweek covering Africa, with a focus on Nigeria, security and conflict.

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