Finland introduces border control with Sweden

Finland has introduced border control for asylum seekers arriving from Sweden in the town of Tornio in the north of the country. At the same time, demonstrations were held in that town against the growing influx of refugees, reports the Patria news agency.

-From now on, controls will be applied at the border crossing in Tornio, to be carried out by the police, the Finnish Ministry of the Interior announced, as reported by Reuters.

The Ministry stressed that refugees will no longer be able to continue their journey from Tornio further to other places in Finland without first registering as asylum seekers. 

-The situation in the north has spiraled out of control. People from Tornio were going to any police station in Finland, said ministry official Paivi Nerg for the online edition of the Finnish newspaper "Helsingin Sanomat". 

According to Finnish television YLE, about a hundred Finns gathered for a protest at the border near Tornio, waving banners that read "Close the borders!" 

The government in Helsinki announced yesterday that since the beginning of the year, more than 11,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Finland, mostly from Iraq, compared to only 3,600 who arrived in the entire previous year. 

Last week, Finland agreed to accept two percent of the total of 120,000 refugees to be distributed among EU member states, writes B92.