Hungary Completes Fence at Border with Serbia Earlier Than Planned

Hungarian police inspect a barbed wire fence on the border with Serbia, in Roszke, Hungary, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Migrants fearful of death at sea in overcrowded and flimsy boats have increasingly turned to using a land route to Europe through the West

In an attempt to limit the influx of refugees trying to cross into the country, Hungary completed the construction of the 175-kilometre-long fence at its border with Serbia.

The fence, which consists of three rolls of razor wire, was completed two days before the initially announced deadline of August 31, Deutsche Welle reports.

A second four-meter-high fence is already under construction by the Hungarian army, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of October

The right-wing government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced the construction of the fence in June.

The Hungarian government has also prepared a bill featuring harsh penalties for people crossing the barrier, which is expected to be approved by parliament next week.

The bill foresees three-year imprisonment for people crossing the border illegally, five-year prison sentence for those damaging the fence and the set up of internment zone for refugees in the border zone.

The frontier is guarded by 1000 border police officers, whose number is to increase to 3000 starting from September 1.

Being a member of the EU and its visa-free Schengen Area, Hungary has increasingly become a preferred stop for refugees on their route to western European countries such as Germany and Sweden.

Since the beginning of the year, Hungary has intercepted more than 140 000 refugees crossing from the Serbian border and some 10 000 people crossed into the country in the past week alone.

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