Migrants cross the Serbia-Croatia border after being stranded

Croatia opened its border with Serbia for migrants on Monday, letting in thousands who have been stranded for nearly two days and partially clearing the human bottleneck that has been building up in the West Balkans.

The humanitarian crisis has been growing since Saturday, when Hungary closed its border with Croatia, creating a backlog of migrants in the region.

UNHCR spokeswoman Melita Sunjic, who is on the Serbia-Croatia border, said that "without any announcement, the borders opened. When the borders opened, everybody rushed" over.

"The last person to go was a young boy without a leg, and we helped him cross in a wheelchair," Sunjic said.

There were between 2,000 and 3,000 migrants stuck on the border in mud and rain when the gates were opened. (AP)

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