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Humanitarian crisis in Turkey and Syria will intensify migrant pressure towards EU

Photo: BGNES

Due to the geopolitical situation, the economic and humanitarian crisis, the earthquake in Turkey and Syria and the problems in the Middle East, a new large wave of migrants to Bulgaria is expected

The Bulgarian border is guarded under extremely difficult conditions, Chief Commissioner Rositsa Dimitrova, Director of the Main Directorate "Border Police", told the Bulgarian National Television. The officers of the "Border Police" do not have all-terrain, off-road vehicles, she added. 

On the other hand, the fence along the Bulgarian-Turkish border does not serve as an obstacle to migrants, there is no equipment, and there is no video surveillance in the busiest section in the Strandzha mountain with a length of 110 km. However, border guards on the Bulgarian-Turkish border have prevented the illegal crossing of more than 164,000 people, Dimitrova explained. 

According to the director of the "Border Police", last year there were over 2,800 pre-trial proceedings for migrant smuggling and illegal migration, 2,100 of which resulted in a verdict. Of them, only 159 people are effectively imprisoned, the rest received fines or suspended sentences. That is why Dimitrova called for increased penalties to deter perpetrators. 

Among the migrant smugglers in addition to Bulgarian and Turkish citizens, there are also Syrian, Serbian, Ukrainian, Moldovan, Romanian, and Russian citizens.


At a briefing for journalists, President Rumen Radev congratulated the leadership and all employees of the Ministry of the Interior, that despite the current situation, the problematic fence on the border, the lack of means of transport and sufficient personnel, the security has been improved, and illegal migrants on the country's roads are already being hunted down and apprehended.



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