(VOVworld) - Hundreds of refugees broke through barbed wire fencing bordering Macedonia despite a heavy police presence Saturday in another dramatic chapter of Europe's escalating migrant crisis.

Refugees shelter from the rain in no-man's land along the Macedonia-Greece border near the town of Gevgelija on August 22, 2015 (Photo: AFP )

On the Macedonian border, police hurled stun grenades and used batons for 30 minutes in a bid to stop the refugees from breaking through. At least 1,500 people were stuck in this border area. Since mid-June, some 42,000 people, including more than 7,000 children, have entered Macedonia. Earlier, Macedonia announced a state of emergency in the southern border with Greece and tightened border activities and blockaded the highway linking the capitals of the two countries.