CROATIA SAYS IT FORCED HUNGARY TO TAKE BACK MIGRANTS

Croatia has transported thousands of migrants back to Hungary, many of them Syrian refugees, after officials said they could not cope with the 17,000 who arrived in just a few days. Croatia's prime minister, Zoran Milanovic told reporters, "We forced them, by sending people up there. And we'll keep doing it."

Mr Milanovic was speaking after Hungary accused Croatia of "a major violation of international law" after it tried to take 1,000 migrants by train across its border.

Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said it showed "the Croatian system for handling migrants and refugees has collapsed, basically in one day".

"What we see today is a complete failure of the Croatian state to handle migration issues," he added.

"What is more, we see intentional participation in human smuggling, taking these migrants to the Hungarian border.

"The Croatians have started on purpose and in a planned way to transport the illegal migrants to us, letting everyone down.

"They have forced the illegal migrants on us Hungarians, they transported them here breaking all European rules, not abiding by any protocol with state aid.

"They have let down not only Hungary but the whole European Union."

There were increasingly ugly exchanges between the two countries, reflecting the anger and ill-feeling between the EU’s 28 member states over what to do with the hundreds of thousands of migrants reaching its shores

According to local media, Hungary has now called up military reservists to deal with the "mass migration situation".

Sky's Alex Crawford said the country is now on a "virtual war footing".

The EU is to hold emergency talks next week.