There are currently 1,400 Syrian refugees in Bulgaria. This was stated to BNT by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Tsvetlin Yovchev. About 50 people cross the border a day, there was a peak day in which 106 people crossed. For the last 24 hours, 65 people have entered our country, 47 of whom are from Syria.
Border surveillance, the establishment of an organization for their accommodation and the provision of EU and Red Cross assistance are being stepped up. We are currently urgently looking for places where they can stay, we have ideas, added Yovchev.
It can be expected that by the end of the year between 6 and 10,000 people will cross the border, which seriously exceeds our potential, the Deputy Prime Minister warned. It is difficult to predict what this wave of refugees may be, as much depends on neighboring countries, where tensions over refugees may also escalate. We are also ready to close the border, said Yovchev. Apparently, there is a serious problem in Turkey, as there are 440,000 refugees in the country, so their border protection efforts are focused on the Turkish-Syrian border.
Regardless of whether there will be military action or the situation in the Middle East is very aggravated and it is likely that the refugees in our country will remain on Bulgarian territory, said Yovchev. There is a danger that terrorists will enter our country when crossing the border, so we are updating the counteraction plan. At the moment, however, there is no direct danger of a terrorist attack in our country, Yovchev reassured.
The Deputy Prime Minister confirmed that no request had been made to Bulgaria for participation in a military operation. We do not have opportunities for such participation, said Yovchev. However, we cannot expect that a military coup against Syria and even the fall of Bashar Assad will not lead to an immediate stabilization of Syria.
Regarding the upcoming first session of parliament on September 4th, Yovchev said he expects the protesters to behave normally. However, there is evidence of escalating tensions, the deputy prime minister said. We are ready for a reaction, we are working on all signals, said Yovchev. He supported the "Sofia without blockades" initiative, which called for protests against the government not to stop the movement. There is a limit in which it is said that excessive force should not be exercised. The police will behave in the same way as they have done so far, Yovchev promised.
Source: novini.bg