Fire tears through Slovenian camp housing thousands of migrants after refugees 'torch tents in protest at a lack of food and water and delays processing them' 

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A blaze tore through a migrant camp in Slovenia after refugees set fire to their tents in protest at their treatment, it was reported today.

Women and children were evacuated from the camp in Brezice, on the border with Croatia, as firefighters battled the blaze this morning.

The migrants were reportedly angry at delays in registering them and moving them on to the Austrian border, witnesses said.

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Slovenian police and soldiers watch on as a fire tears through a camp housing thousands of migrants near Slovenia's border with Croatia

The migrants torched their tents in protest at delays in registering them and moving them on to the Austrian border, witnesses said

Incensed: Migrants being held at the camp also complained about a lack of food, water and blankets as temperatures dropped

Firefighters tackled the blaze which destroyed several tents while women and children were evacuated from the camp on the Slovenia border

Many of those at the camp arrived in the dark of night after wading or swimming across the Sutla River in temperatures close to freezing

They also complained about a lack of food, water and blankets, it was reported by the BBC.

Many of those at the camp had arrived in the dark of night after wading or swimming across the Sutla River in temperatures close to freezing. 

The European Union's executive, meanwhile, summoned leaders of the countries on the migrant trail to a summit in Brussels on Sunday in an effort to better co-ordinate the flow from one country to another. 

Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia have struggled to cope with the relentless flow of migrants travelling through the Balkans, their journey made more difficult since Hungary erected fences protected by razor wire, police and soldiers on its southern borders, forcing migrants to find new routes west.

Slovenia yesterday pleaded with the EU to send more police to patrol its borders as thousands more migrants enter the country on their way to western Europe. 

Migrants wait for food behind fence at the Refugee camp in Brezice, where a fire heaped more misery on their journey through Europe

More and more migrants are arriving in Slovenia on alternative routes to enter the European Union after Hungary closed its borders

The country's president, Borut Pahor, said he needed 'fast assistance' from the EU as it emerged that about 19,500 migrants have entered Slovenia since Friday.

It came as Slovenia accused Croatia of sending thousands of refugees toward its borders 'without control' after ignoring requests to contain the surge. 

While Slovenia has said it can handle only 2,500 migrants a day, its police said that around 8,300 migrants seeking to head towards Western Europe were in reception centres in the small country, with thousands more arriving. 

Hungary closed its border with Serbia to the free flow of migrants on September 15 and clamped down on its border with Croatia on Saturday. 

Since then, over 20,000 migrants have entered Slovenia from Croatia, with many thousands more on their way.

Early Wednesday, Slovenian lawmakers granted more powers to the army to work with police in managing the migrant influx along the borders of the small Alpine nation. 

March of the migrants: Around 2,000 refugees are escorted by the Slovenian police as they walk towards the refugee camp in Brezice, Slovenia

Crisis: The European Union's executive has summoned leaders of the countries on the migrant trail to a summit in Brussels on Sunday in an effort to better co-ordinate the flow from one country to another

Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia have struggled to cope with the relentless flow of migrants travelling through the Balkans

Further back, hundreds of migrants pushed into Croatia after spending the night out in the open in freezing cold, waiting to cross from Serbia.

Exhausted and chilled, migrants walked down the muddy border passage and over corn fields. Croatian police had deployed on the boundary to stop them but then moved away.

'I am sorry for Europe,' said Iraqi migrant Ari Omar in a field in Rigonce, Slovenia, on the border with Croatia. 

'We did not think Europe is like this. No respect for refugees, not treating us with dignity. Why is Europe like this?' 

Arduous: Their journey has been made more difficult after Hungary erected fences protected by razor wire, police and soldiers on its southern borders, forcing migrants to find new routes west.

Migrants help each other up a steep and muddy incline as they make their way on foot to the outskirts of Brezice in Slovenia

U.N. refugee agency officer Francesca Bonelli said around 3,000 migrants were there overnight, including little children, the elderly, people in wheelchairs and many sick and exhausted.

A statement from EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's office said Sunday's summit was a response to 'a need for much greater cooperation, more extensive consultation and immediate operational action.'

Nations invited to attend are EU member states Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia, and non-EU countries Macedonia and Serbia.

'The objective of the meeting will be to agree common operational conclusions which could be immediately implemented,' the EU Commission statement said.

Starving: Migrants try to buy some food at a takeaway after they crossed the Austrian-Slovenian border in Spielfeld, Austria

Migrant youths plunder a corn field for food as they gather in Rigonce at the Slovenian border