Merkel warns: Possible armed conflicts in the Balkans

Tensions already exist in the Western Balkan countries and “I do not want military conflicts to occur there”, stated German Chancellor Angela Merkel last night at a gathering of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Darmstadt in the west of the country, reports the Patria News Agency.

Many experts have warned that if Germany, as the main destination for refugees fleeing mostly from the war in Syria, closes its border with Austria, Balkan countries, through which the largest number of migrants and refugees pass, will do the same, German media report.

At the end of October, the EU announced that 100,000 reception places would be established in Greece and the Balkans to curb the largest migrant crisis to date, and during the previous months, tensions had already arisen between Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Hungary due to the resolution of the migrant crisis.

Merkel said she did not want to be negative, but warned that the situation could quickly worsen.

She warned of possible military conflicts in the Balkans if Germany closes its border with Austria for refugees, writes Bild.

The issue of refugees is also causing division within Germany, in the ruling coalition of conservatives and social democrats, who failed to reach an agreement at a meeting on Sunday, as conservatives from the Bavarian CSU demanded that Germany accept fewer than the expected 800,000 refugees in 2015.

A new round of negotiations has been announced for Thursday, and one of the main topics is the establishment of so-called transit zones on the German-Austrian border to speed up the processing of applications and deportations. Conservatives advocate for this, but the social democratic SPD rejects this idea.