Balkans pressed by desperate crowds

Fights for tents break out among people waiting to get into Croatia from Serbia

The Balkans faced a growing buildup of migrants on Monday, with thousands massing in the cold and dampness after the closure of Hungary's southern border diverted them to Slovenia.

In desperate scenes, several thousand people, many of them Syrians fleeing war, spent the night on the muddy ground of the no man's land between Serbia and European Union-member Croatia. "Open the gate! Open the gate!" they chanted.