Migrants refuse to leave train in Hungary

Hundreds of migrants left the Budapest train station on Thursday morning, hoping to reach Austria. After a two-day standoff at the capital's main station, police who had barred entry to about 2,000 migrants stepped aside.

But when the train stopped at Bicske, police officers tried to take the migrants to the town's refugee reception center. Many of the people on board the train started chanting "No camp!" refusing to leave their carriages.

Scuffles broke out at the train station in Bicske which is about 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Budapest. Some people threw themselves onto railway lines. Several hundred passengers remained on or beside the train at Bicske for hours.

Many people refused to drink the water that was distributed by the police, fearing it could contain sedatives.

Police later declared the railway station an "operation zone" and ordered journalists to leave.

Meanwhile, thousands of migrants are still camping outside the main station in Budapest. Few agreed to board another train to northwest Hungary, fearing they too would run into another wall of police.

Hungarian lawmakers discussed changes to entry laws that would close the country to migrants as of September 15, according to the right-wing government. In the past nine months, about 140,000 migrants have been caught crossing from neighboring Serbia on their way to Germany and other Western European countries.

das/jm (AP, Reuters)