Bulgaria sends 350 soldiers to its border with Turkey against refugees

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA) / Archive

Click to read the article in Turkish

Bulgaria has sent 350 soldiers to its border with Turkey so that they will support the police in the face of growing 'refugee influx'.

As reported by BBC Türkçe, Bulgaria's Minister of Defense Georgi Panayotov spoke to bTV channel yesterday (November 1) and stated, "As of today, we have deployed soldiers on the Bulgaria-Turkey border so that they will help the police." The Minister indicated that 350 soldiers as well as 40 equipment have been sent to the border.

'6,500 illegal entries'

According to the Ministry of Defense of Bulgaria, 6,500 people crossed into Bulgaria 'illegally' this year, which accounts for three times more than the number recorded in the first nine months of 2020.

It has never accepted high number of migrants

Bulgaria has a critical position for the migrants who want to go from the Middle East and Afghanistan to the European Union (EU).

Bulgaria, situated on the eastern border of the EU, has a barbed wire fence of 259 kilometers along its border with Turkey though it is partly damaged.

In August, the Parliament sent 400-700 soldiers to the borders with Greece and Turkey to put up barbed wire fences.

The poorest country of the EU, Bulgaria has not accepted a high number of migrants so far. (TP/SD)