Hundreds of mostly Syrian refugees have begun marching to the Austrian border after being prevented from boarding trains to Germany in the Hungarian capital Budapest.Authorities appeared to be allowing groups of refugees to make the 170km journey to the border crossing on Friday amid tense scenes across the country.
Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons, reporting from near the M1 and M7 motorways outside Budapest, said authorities appeared to be helping the refugees make the journey despite fears the road would be blocked.
“There are hundreds of people who have marched something like 10km from the centre of Budapest from the rail station to here…they say they have no option but to do this.
“It may sound far fetched but they’re intent on reaching the border.
“The refugees were panicking because they thought the motorway had been blocked off…that road-block was in fact there to help them rather than hinder them.” Simmons said Hungarian volunteers were laying out water bottles to help the refugees marching in sweltering conditions.
