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Hungary to Close Zones Holding Asylum-Seekers 


FILE - Migrants and refugees gather at a border crossing between Serbia and Hungary in Kelebija, Serbia, Feb. 6, 2020.
FILE - Migrants and refugees gather at a border crossing between Serbia and Hungary in Kelebija, Serbia, Feb. 6, 2020.

Hungary is closing its border transit zones where it held asylum-seekers as they waited for authorities to review their applications.

The move announced Thursday by President Viktor Orban’s chief of staff follows a ruling last week by the European Union’s top court saying the system amounted to detention.

Hungary said it was moving 280 asylum-seekers to other facilities as a result of closing the transit zones.

All new asylum applications will now only be accepted at Hungarian embassies and consulates.

Orban’s government has sought to strictly limit immigration, and during a 2015 migrant crisis in Europe it built fences along its southern border.

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