Bulgaria May Send Army to Borders as Migrant Wave to Macedonia Surges

Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry said on Friday it is considering sending army troops to the country’s borders to help police prevent a potential surge in migrant influx, the Defence Ministry said on Friday.

The Defence Ministry announced on its website it is holding consultations with Border Police about conducting joint operations to secure the country’s borders “in connection with the complicated situation in the neighboring countries and the refugee wave”.

The ministry didn’t mention any neighbouring country by name but the announcement was made a day after Macedonia declared state of emergency in two of its  border regions due to “an unprecedented flow of refugees from the Middle East” entering from Greece. Earlier on Friday, Macedonian riot police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse thousands of migrants trying to cross illegally from Greece.

On Wednesday, the Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said that the fence being built by Hungary along its southern border with Serbia would redirect the wave of migrants arriving from Macedonia to Croatia and Bulgaria.