GETTY Experts and politicians fear the world is on the verge of a catastrophic war

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Both the Hungarian and Italian prime ministers have spoken of huge dangers of unchecked floods of immigrants from Africa and the Middle East which have set previously peacable EU nations against each other. The scenario - especially the one currently being played out in Serbia and Hungary - is hauntingly similar to that which triggered the First World War. The problem has manifesting itself in central Europe where Hungary is besieged by growing numbers of refugees passing through from Serbia and Croatia, forcing its government to build fences to stem the influx. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán warned European life and its established laws were under threat from huge numbers of people heading through the continent from war-torn states in the Middle East. In a defence against criticism of the aggressive stance against refugees taken by the country , he said yesterday: "Our borders are in danger. Our way of life where we respect the law is in danger.

"The whole of Hungary and Europe is in danger. "The migrants are blitzing us." Hungary and Serbia have constantly been at each others' throats over the issue, with Budapest urging its non-EU neighbours to do more to help tackle the growing neighbours migrants. It is now sending troops armed with rubber bullets and tear gas to the border with Serbia to protect the country's frontier. Pinter Bence, a Hungarian political journalist for the mandiner.hu website said the situation with growing tensions between nations was reminiscent of the international scenario from just over 100 years ago.

GETTY Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán says migrants are "blitzing" Europe

Terrorism, energised by a fanatical belief in God, aims to start a third world war in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Africa Sergio Mattarella

He said: "This is how the eve of the First World War could have looked like: complete hesitancy, the termination of the usual channels of diplomacy, the lack of solidarity, pressure to take a step and the countries issuing threats to each other are all reminding us of that. It definitely doesn't look like a cooperating Europe. "Mr Orban is right in stating that it would only worth to talk about quotas if we can control the registration of the migrants coming to Europe. And so far no country has any idea how to do that. "That's what the Hungarian Government has done, though it risks projecting an image of inhumanity." He said reports of a Croatian train filled with 1,000 migrants illegally entering Hungary last week, could easily be the sort of act that escalates the currently fraught situation.

REUTERS Syrian migrants heading for the Greek island of Lesbos

Politicians in Budapest described the train's unannounced arrival as a "major, major incident". Mr Pinter said: "What did the Croatian government think when they sent a train with 40 fully armed police officers on it, crossing the border at a red signal? In the worse cases an affair like this can lead to an outbreak of a war." The escalating situation on the continent has also drawn interest across the Atlantic Ocean. Like Mr Pinter, Gerald Celente, who is a trend forecaster in the United States, said the current crisis draws huge parallels with a previous global conflict - in this case the Second World War. He blames America's attacks on Libya, Iraq and most recently Syria, for bringing "refugees of war" to Europe. Mr Celente said this is going hand in hand with trade wars, with China devaluing its currency to gain a global advantage, similar to what happened prior to the Second World War.

AP Croatian police trying to move migrants away from a train this week

REUTERS Migrants camping in Austria after arriving from Hungary

Considering the current situation in Syria, where America is bombing president Bashar al-Assad's regime while Vladimir Putin's Russia is defending him by attacking ISIS, his warnings are all too clear. He said: "We're on the march to war. History is repeating itself. "It's a repeat of the 1930s. The crash of 1929, the Great Depression, currency wars, trade wars, world war. "We've got the panic of '08, the Great Recession, currency wars, trade wars and now we're seeing the refugees of war sweeping on the shores of Europe." He said another big terror attack on society will see an emotional outpouring across the Western world that will then transform into a catastrophic thirst for revenge. Mr Celente said: "They are leading us to the next great war. All it is going to take is a terror attack and people will be tying yellow ribbons around everything that doesn't move, waving American flags and we're off to what Einstein called the whole war scenario."

GETTY Italian PM Sergio Mattarella fears religion-based terror is leading the world into a major war

US economist Dr Paul Craig Roberts, who served in the Reagan administration, is another who predicts doom on the horizon. He spoke at an Occupy Peace event organised by Mr Celente at the weekend about rising tensions. Dr Roberts remarked on the impact of a nuclear war under the currently tense climate, if countries such as Russia and China are involved. He said the effects would be devastating, as there would be a "first-strike, pre-emptive force". He added: "Armageddon could be at hand. "This is chilling. People should be scared to death."