Bulgaria’s Defense Ministry has announced that it will take measures to reinforce its border with Turkey in a bid to thwart illegal migration.
Among the planned measures is the deployment of troops to the borders with Turkey in order to reinforce security and combat migrant smuggling.
“Additional troops will be sent to protect Bulgaria’s borders, and the border with Turkey will be divided to five separate zones,” said Bulgarian Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Krasimir Karakachanov in a statement made in German newspaper “Die Welt.”
Karakachanov added that squadrons will be deployed to each of these zones, which will be made up of 600 special-combat trained soldiers.
He stressed that the army is better equipped than the police to protect Bulgaria’s borders. Karakachanov also pointed out that the movements of illegal migrants will be monitored with the help of surveillance cameras and drones.
Karakachanov also criticized European countries for not closing off the Mediterranean migration route, underscoring the need to take more measures to limit the influx of illegal immigrants to Europe, including “the use of force to protect the EU’s external borders if necessary.”
He also proposed that either NATO forces in Italy and Greece or EU units take part in the operation to monitor the borders against migrants, “the majority of which are coming to Europe for economic reasons and who only want to live in rich Western countries.”
