A group of migrants marooned on the border between Greece and Macedonia opted for a rather extreme form of protest as authorities blocked their passage deeper into Europe.
About six men, some believed to be from Iran's Kurdish minority, sewed their lips shut as a mark of their refusal to turn back toward their home countries.
Others chanted "Open the border!"
According to the BBC, the protests stem from a decision by Balkan countries to let in refugees only from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, a move that came in the wake of the Paris terror attacks earlier this month. Dozens of would-be refugees from other nations, including Iran and Pakistan, carried out a hunger strike in a Greek village near Macedonia.
It highlighted the complicated separation between the international community's response to refugees fleeing war zones and others who, while classified as "migrants," may also be seeking to escape hardship and persecution.
An emailed statement last week from the office of Macedonia's Prime Minister Nikola Gruevksi insisted that the country was keen to aid the flow of refugees.
"Geography has laid this issue at our doorstep and we are proud to ensure refugees safe passage through our nation's northern border and toward final destinations in other European Union nations," it read. "With the flow of refugees through our borders growing from 600 to now more than 7,000 a day, our nation of approximately 2 million citizens has prioritized the human rights and dignity of more than 520,000 refugees transiting through our nation over the past 10 months."
But it urged a more "coordinated and European-wide response" in the aftermath of "the attacks in Paris and ahead of the coming winter months."
Elsewhere, the head of Vienna's Jewish community is expressing concern that the influx of migrants to Austria could result in a spike in anti-Semitism.
Oskar Deutsch said that among the migrants are those who have grown up on a diet of anti-Semitism. And he said Austria has now "more or less" reached its capacity as far as taking in new arrivals is concerned.
He told reporters Monday that some of those seeking asylum in Austria are only "so-called refugees," suggesting they have no reason to seek the safe haven reserved for those fleeing war and persecution.
Austria is bracing for a total of about 95,000 refugees this year, just over 1 percent of its population.
In Germany, police say 180,000 asylum seekers have entered the country so far this month, pushing the year's overall figure already well beyond the number the government's estimate for the full year.
The Bundespolizei, responsible for border security, confirmed Monday 180,000 had arrived this month, positioning November to most likely break the previous monthly high of 181,000 set in October.
Germany had reported more than 758,000 arrivals from January through October, meaning that now the country has seen more than 938,000 newcomers.
The Interior Ministry in August forecast 800,000 would arrive this year. Since then it has refused to update the figure, saying doing so could be misconstrued as an invitation.
Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel has said, however, that 1 million could come and now even that seems too low.
Poland's new Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said the country is not ready to take in 7,000 refugees, a figure accepted by the previous government.
Szydlo also said Monday she believes that the European Union members would like to reopen discussion on migrant policy. She mentioned Denmark's recent declaration it will restrict its rules on accepting migrants.
Szydlo said the situation has changed since the Paris attacks.
"The current solutions are not good and we are ready to sit down and discuss them," she said.
Turkey's state-run news agency said authorities have recovered the body of a 4-year-girl who was among a group of 10 migrants reported missing after a boat sank on its way to Greece.
The Anadolu Agency said the girl's body was discovered Sunday among rocks in the resort of Bodrum.
The charity group Save the Children said more than 70 children have drowned trying to reach Greece since September.
Information for this article was contributed by Ishaan Tharoor of The Washington Post and by staff members of The Associated Press.
A Section on 11/24/2015