The Latest: Jordan’s queen visits refugee camp on Lesbos

VIENNA – The Latest on the flow of migrants into Europe (all times local):

5:15 p.m.

Queen Rania of Jordan has visited refugees and migrants on the Greek island of Lesbos, which has been one of the main gateways into Europe for people fleeing war, poverty and persecution at home.

Rania visited the Kara Tepe camp Monday, a municipal-run facility hosting more than 800 people. Jordan is currently home to more than 1.2 million Syrians.

Rania says aid organizations had voiced “deep concern” over the recent European Union-Turkey deal under which those arriving on Greek islands after March 20 face deportation back to Turkey. She says it is “absolutely crucial for us to look for legal alternatives and more safe and effective pathways to Europe and to areas of safety.”

She also says authorities need to search for sustainable, long-term solutions to the migrant crisis.

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2:35 p.m.

Poland’s Interior Ministry says it will send 120 border guards, police and migration bureau officers to Greece to help protect the European Union’s borders under the mass inflow of refugees.

A communique on the ministry website said Monday that due to the “continuing migration crisis in Europe,” 60 Border Guard officers and 40 police officers with the necessary equipment will soon support Europe’s border protection agency, Frontex, in securing Greece’s border, which is also the EU’s external border.

A further 20 experts of Poland’s Office for Foreigners will help with processing the migrants’ requests for asylum.

Poland is refusing to accept any refugees, citing security concerns after deadly attacks in France and Belgium.

Warsaw argues support should be offered to refugees in camps nearest to their home countries.

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2:10 p.m.

Austria has re-imposed controls on its border with Hungary, with police checking vehicles at the main regular crossings and soldiers patrolling other stretches of the border.

Police say the controls that began Monday are meant to ensure that no one crosses illegally and to prevent the smuggling of migrants into Austria and other EU nations. They have reported more such smuggling attempts into Austria since countries along the Balkan migration route closed their borders to migrants earlier this year.

Before that, tens of thousands of migrants seeking better lives in prosperous EU countries came through Hungary and then through Austria until Hungary sealed its borders last September with razor-wire fences.

Austrian police did not say how long the new border controls would remain.

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