Hundreds of migrants on new march in Hungary

BUDAPEST, Hungary – (UPDATED) At least 500 migrants set off from Hungary’s capital Budapest for Austria on a new march Saturday, September 5, after hundreds reportedly walked out of refugee camps around the country.

On Friday, some 1,200 people began the 175-kilometer (110-mile) journey on foot from Budapest’s Keleti train station, prompting authorities to take several thousand to the border in around 90 buses.

On Saturday, there appeared to be no more buses however, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent said, leading a group of at least 500 to set off across the Elizabeth bridge, towards the motorway to Austria.

The government was not available for comment on the latest march.

Some of those walking were thought to be among 800 people who public TV channel M1 said walked out of a refugee camp outside the city of Debrecen on Saturday morning and took trains to Budapest.

The Debrecen camp, Hungary’s largest, has reportedly emptied by half compared with Friday.

Another 200 set out from the Vamosszabadi refugee centre near Gyor in western Hungary in the direction of the Hegyeshalom border crossing point, local media reported, while some 250 others set off from a camp in Bicske, 40 kilometres (25 miles) outside Budapest, also towards Hegyeshalom.

Among those taken by bus to the Austrian border late Friday and overnight, around 6,500 had crossed the frontier by around 12:30 pm (1030 GMT) on Saturday, the Austrian interior ministry said.

The Austrian government provided buses and trains to take the migrants to Vienna and Salzburg, where most intended to continue their journey to Germany.

Police in Germany said they expected up to 7,000 migrants and refugees to cross into the country on Saturday. Hundreds of people had already arrived by train in the southern city of Munich Saturday morning, a local police spokesman said. – Rappler.com