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Bulgaria ready to deploy 500 troops on border to stop refugee flow: minister

Xinhua, February 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

Bulgarian Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev here on Monday said his country was ready to deploy some 500 troops on its borders to help stop the refugee flow.

"The soldiers can be deployed on the borders at any time when the Interior Ministry requests it from us, and we are in constant communication," Nenchev said at a press conference.

The Ministry of Interior is responsible for guarding the border, and the soldiers will patrol jointly with the police, Nenchev said.

His ministry plans to participate in guarding the border with units of the Land Forces, Joint Forces Command, Military Intelligence, Military Police, Air Force and the Military Academy.

A number of people to be deployed at the border have passed special training and have participated in various missions abroad, Nenchev said.

Bulgaria is located on the most direct route to refugee flows from Turkey to Central Europe. According to data from the Bulgarian State Agency for Refugees, 59,883 foreigners sought asylum in Bulgaria since 1993. Among them, 11,081 applied in 2014, and 20,391 in 2015. Endit