Bulgarian Troops Deployed at Border Will Not Bear Arms

The Bulgarian troops, who are to be deployed in order to aid the Interior Ministry in guarding the border with Turkey against the influx of illegal immigrants, will not bear arms.

This means that they will not be able to arrest people who cross the border illegally, daily Sega reports.

This becomes clear from an amendment to an instruction on the joint work between the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Defence.

The troops will be able to transport personnel and materials, will service and repair equipment and will train specialists.

The instruction gives a wide field of action to the troops, who will be entrusted with other tasks in accordance with the acting legislation.

The Interior Minister Veselin Vuchkov proposed the idea for the deployment of troops at the border, as his institution was lacking the necessary personnel and equipment to deal with the influx of refugees.

Bulgaria's President Rosen Plevneliev opposed the idea, warning that the stationing of troops at the border with an allied country, such as Turkey, could lead to a diplomatic scandal.

Moreover, the Defence Act stipulates that the Interior Ministry guards the land border, while the army protects only the country's airspace.

Initially, Bulgaria's Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev also opposed the idea, but recently he announced that 180 troops will be dispatched to the border.

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