In a new development in Europe’s escalating refugee crisis, Denmark has cut off all rail links to Germany. The country’s government is trying to stop migrants and refugees on their way to Sweden.
On Wednesday (Sep.9), Danish police halted at the border two trains coming from Germany to Denmark carrying 200 migrants, reports the BBC. Authorities said that passengers refused to leave the trains because they did not want to be registered as refugees in Denmark, but rather in Sweden.
Denmark’s center-right government has recently cut benefits for asylum seekers, and has been “promoting” its new strict regulations on refugees in Middle Eastern newspapers, in attempt to stop people from coming.
Earlier on the same day, Danish police also closed down a highway after 300 migrants were forced off a train and began to make their way across the country on foot.
More than 1,200 migrants and refugees have crossed the border between Denmark and Germany in recent days, according to the BBC. Both countries belong to the Schengen zone of passport-free travel, but according to EU law, the scheme can be suspended in extraordinary circumstances.