Red Cross: No Refugee Surge to Bulgaria after Arab Spring

Syrian refugees seen in a Red Crescent camp in the Yayladagi district, in Bulgaria's neighbor Turkey. Photo by EPA/BGNES

There has been no significant increase of the inflow refugees to Bulgaria in the wake of the revolutions in the Arab world this spring, said a Bulgarian Red Cross representative Monday.

Speaking on occasion on June 20, the World Refugee Day, Mariana Stoyanova, the BRC's refugee unit director, said that no significant increase in refugee floe is expected for the near future either.

According to her, most refugees into Bulgaria are still coming from Iraq, a country not taken over by the so-called Arab spring.

Stoyanova nevertheless stated that the Red Cross is fully prepared to tackle an increase in inflow, and that it has conducted a crisis drill early spring.

"At its present capacity, Bulgaria can manage some 5,000 refugees," said she.

According to official statistics, in 2010 Bulgaria has hosted some 700 refugees and 350 asylum seekers.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!