Serbian president authorizes army deployment in migrant crisis

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic on Thursday authorized the government to put the Serbian Armed Forces on full alert in case its police forces cannot handle potential escalation of the migration crisis on its territory.

The decision was made at the meeting of the National Security Council in the presence of Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, representatives of the army, security services and government.

Serbian Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic said the decision was taken so that "citizens, state and its property could be protected from all security challenges coming from the outside" if police forces cannot preserve public order by themselves.

"In peacetime, police is in charge of maintaining public order, and it will be so in the future. But if it happens that police is unable to do so, state and provincial authorities as well as local self-government can request the deployment of the army, while the final decision will be made by the defense minister, with the approval of the president," Selakovic explained.

He did not wish to speculate whether the current security situation demanded immediate engagement of the army.

During Wednesday's meeting of the bureau for coordination of security services, it was confirmed that all state security services are on full alert, and suggested that Nikolic should raise the army's level of alert. Endit