Germany puts army on standby after its generous approach to migrants backfires

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GERMANY has put 4,000 troops on standby as the country buckles under the pressure of the record-breaking number of migrants arriving in the country.

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4,000 troops are on standby as Germany struggles to cope with the migrant influxThe German Defence Minister has admitted that the country verges on "an emergency" after cracks have begun to emerge in the 'German generosity'.

Germany has been viewed as a leader on Europe’s worst refugee crisis for 70 years, with Chancellor Angela Merkel's expectation that the country will take in 800,000 this year alone.
However, the move appears to have backfired as German towns struggle to process the unprecedented number of arrivals.

Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said: "For this weekend alone we have put 4,000 soldiers on standby."

He added that the troops would be able "to pitch in in an emergency".

More migrants have arrived at Munich's train station since the start of September than in the whole of 2014.

About 120,000 refugees arrived in Munich in August and more than 25,000 came last weekend.

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Some in Germany have questioned Merkel's 'generous' responseForeign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier added that about 40,000 migrants are expected this weekend alone.

However, some in Germany have questioned the impact of the country's response.

On Wednesday, the leading conservative newspaper Allgemeine Zeitung wondered if the “heterogenous crowds” could really be transformed into “constitutionally loyal” citizens and taxpayers.

Saudi Arabia have controversially offered to help Germany cope by building at least 200 mosques.

The rich Gulf state said it would build one mosque for every 100 Middle Eastern refugees who entered Germany.

The German army order follows a move by the Hungarian parliament to pass laws to allow its forces to use rubber bullets and tear gas on migrants.

More than 170,000 migrants have been recorded entering Hungary so far this year.

Janos Lazar, chief of the Hungarian cabinet, admitted that the possibility of terrorism is growing in Hungary following the refugee crisis.

The decision means that thousands of armed soldiers will be assembled across the Hungarian border with Serbia.

Prisoners have also been drafted in to build 10km of 13ft fencing every day.