Stockholm: Sweden started temporary border controls south of the country from today.
Sweden's Home Affairs Minister Anders Ygeman told reporters that border controls would take place on the Oresund Bridge and the ferry terminals in southern Sweden and apply initially for 10 days.
The border check could be extended in 20-day periods, he added.
The introduction of border controls means that refugees coming to Sweden face three choices: to return to the country they came from, seek asylum in Sweden or, for those just passing through Sweden, to choose a different route to their final destination.
Around 20,000 cars cross the Oresund Bridge between Sweden and Denmark every day. Border checks will affect thousands of daily commuters who live in one country and work in the other.
Prime Minister Stefan Lofven yesterday said, Sweden needed "order on our borders. There must be order in our reception of refugees."
Mikael Hvinlund of the Swedish Migration Board told the press conference that the agency had asked for border controls because it can no longer fulfill its mission. "We can no longer guarantee shelter."
Ferry operators serving Swedish ports have also been asked to check passengers' identity documents.
QNA
