The human rights group Amnesty International (AI) has criticized as “unacceptable” and “appalling” the dire conditions of nearly 2,000 refugees stranded on the border of Croatia and Slovenia.

An Amnesty research team said on Monday that some 1,800 refugees, including many children and infants, were stranded in the rain in the middle of the night at a checkpoint in Slovenia’s Trnovec, located between the two borders, after police on both sides set up fences to prevent the refugees from crossing the border.

“Croatian police tried to justify their actions by telling us ‘Everybody is doing it – look at Hungary.’ This attitude is appalling and dangerous,” Amnesty researcher Barbora Černušáková said.

She added that it was “unacceptable” for the two countries and their neighbors to shrink from their responsibility.

Černušáková also warned that if other European Union (EU) states failed to respond correctly to the situation, “it could spark a domino effect with drastic consequences” for thousands of people arriving in the continent on a daily basis.

Division in capitals, frustration on borders

The incident took place just days after Hungary closed its border with Croatia, and countries in the northern Balkans imposed tougher border restrictions amid the influx of refugees coming from Middle Eastern and African states.

European countries were divided over the management of the refugee crisis.

Over the past weeks, the Balkans and Central Europe have worked to stop the flow of refugees, including many Syrians, Afghans, and Iraqis fleeing war and violence.

Other wealthier European countries, while also being unhappy about the unprecedented influx of refugees, have called for measures to integrate them into Europe.

The divisions have only left the refugees, most of whom take perilous journeys to European shores, frustrated and without shelter.

According to the EU Frontex agency, more than 700,000 refugees and asylum seekers have entered European countries so far this year by crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Some 3,000 people have lost their lives during their journey to Europe.