Helicopters to Help Monitor Bulgaria's Borders, Deputy IntMin Says

Army helicopters will provide assistance in monitoring Bulgaria's borders to counter a potential surge in the number of migrants trying to enter the country, Deputy Interior Minister Filip Gunev has said.

In a Saturday interview Gunev commented on the latest developments and fears of a dramatic rise in the influx of asylum seekers as thousands are trying to reach Central Europe via Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary.

Though the numbers crossing into Bulgaria are considerably low compared to its neighbors, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic warned earlier this week that the construction of a fence along the border with Hungary might prompt some of the migrants to use Bulgaria as a transit route to other EU member states.

Gunev, however, asserted that Bulgaria was "not a logical route" for migrants.

He said that the Interior Ministry was not intending to deploy additional staff for the moment, but would continue to follow closely the developments in neighboring Macedonia, Turkey and Greece.

At the same time border police and the army are beginning to carry out joint activities at the most critical points of the border and at border crossings, Gunev pointed out. The latter was also suggested at a Friday meeting at the Interior Ministry involving PM Boyko Borisov and Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov.

Also on Friday, Macedonia's police dispersed thousands of asylum seekers trying to reach its territory from Greece. Fearing a humanitarian crisis, Skopje has voiced over the past hours its intention to control its borders more assertively, but has let some 200 people in, most of them women and children.

Police are estimated to have apprehended some 15 000 migrants trying to enter or leave Bulgaria over the past months. 

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