Slovenia asks EU for help policing migrant crossings

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• GWEN IFILL:

  There was little relief today from the wave of migrants pouring into Eastern Europe. As officials on the ground struggled to cope, governments ratcheted up their war of words.

  NewsHour special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.

• MALCOLM BRABANT:

  All day, they kept coming in the thousands, as Slovenian police on horseback tried to herd them to packed reception centers.

  Slovenia says nearly 20,000 migrants have entered the country from Croatia since Friday. And, today, Parliament considered sending additional troops to help prevent illegal crossings. Officials talked of more drastic action as well.

• BOSTJAN SEFIC, State Secretary, Slovenian Interior Ministry (through interpreter):

  I don't know what the future will bring. And you know that Slovenia had a restrained attitude so far. But we cannot rule out the possibility of using physical barriers to secure border crossings.

• MALCOLM BRABANT:

  In addition, Slovenia's president traveled to Brussels, asking the European Union to help police the frontier. The new influx began when Hungary closed the last of its southern border posts in recent days.

  That forced refugees reaching Croatia, to take the new route toward Slovenia. The Slovenians complained again today that Croatia is dumping throngs of people on its border without control. But Croatia said, in turn, that thousands are stranded in mud-caked fields along its southern border with Serbia.

  The Croatian interior minister said Slovenia must take at least half of those arriving in order to keep the line moving.

• MAN:

  What we are expecting here now is that they're able to handle the 5,000 people. If we are receiving 10,000, then 5,000 people have to be transited to Slovenia.

• MALCOLM BRABANT:

  All of this as arrivals at the southern end of the refugee route have reached new records. Some 8,000 crossed from the Eastern Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece yesterday alone. The voyage to islands like Lesbos is far shorter and relatively safer during the summer an the crossing from North Africa to Italy, but it is still a perilous undertaking.

  It's estimated that more than 3,000 people have drowned so far this year. And the U.N. refugee office in Greece fears more will die.

  RON REDMOND, Spokesman, UN High Commissioner for Refugees: Well, as winter approaches, people are desperate and they're still going to keep trying. They might wait for a calm day. But if it's not, the smugglers give them a discount. And they will — as much as, say, 40 or 50 percent, if they will take a boat in stormy weather. And some people do it.

• MALCOLM BRABANT:

  It's been one of those days that has really emphasized the fickle nature of the Aegean Sea. A boat full of refugees landed in Lesbos today and the people on board told volunteers that the boat directly behind them had disappeared. Their story has been confirmed by Greek coast guard tonight, who said there have been drownings inside Turkish waters.

  But, tonight, the Coast Guard off the island of Lesbos have been in action. They have rescued 60 people. The sea was flat calm, yet all of these people were in danger of drowning. The weather is about to change, which creates a real dilemma for those people in Turkey who want to rush to Europe before more borders close.

  Those who do make it across the Aegean may face an increasingly hostile reception. Last night, 15,000 to 20,000 anti-immigration protesters gathered in Dresden, Germany, which, up to now, has been one of the most receptive countries to migrants.

  And in Sweden, where more than 150,000 refugees are expected to arrive this year, a fourth building housing asylum seekers was torched overnight in a suspected arson attack.

  For the PBS NewsHour, I'm Malcolm Brabant in Athens.