Bulgaria steps up security at border with Turkey over increased migration pressure

Gendarmerie and military units will strengthen security at Bulgaria’s border with Turkey in the face of alarming data on increased migration pressure.

This year, compared to the previous year, the attempts to cross the border have increased two to three times, Minister of Interior Boyko Rashkov said at a hearing in the relevant parliamentary committee on April 13. There are more than 50 attempts a day to breach the security facility.

"It's unbelievable how 19 people, for example, gather in one Mercedes SUV, as has been the case from today. At the border with Turkey, at Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint, something I informed the Turkish ambassador in Sofia about, it was found during checks that concealments were made in buses and 25 migrants are transported in them. At first sight you cannot see them, but they have technical means there to see that there are people in unusual places. So, I would say, it might sound strong, but we are fighting a battle to protect the Bulgarian border," the minister said.