site.btaBulgarian Defence Minister: In Case of Migrant Wave, Army Can Be Sent to Border within 4-6 Hours

March 5 (BTA) - The Bulgarian Army is ready to be sent to
 the border with Turkey in case of a migrant wave, Defence
Minister Krassimir Karakachanov told journalists in Parliament
Thursday. Some 400 to 500 persons from the Land Forces, the
Special Forces and Military Police, and 140 units of equipment
can reach the border within 4 to 6 hours, he specified. Another
1,000 service persons can be sent within 12 to 16 hours and, if
necessary, 2400 to 2600 service persons can be mobilized, he
added.

He said that physical strength will be used at the border,
including water cannons, gas and shock grenades like those used
by Greece.

He also said that at this stage, the Border Police and the
Interior Ministry are doing their job perfectly, there is no
tension, and Turkey does not allow illegal migrants towards
Bulgaria.

The Defence Minister also told journalists that no new
installations need to be built along the border. The Border
Police have very good equipment: thermal cameras that capture
objects some 5 km from the border, unmanned aircraft, and
others, he said.

In Karakachanov's words, it would be good to stop the migrant
flow to Bulgaria with the use of diplomacy; however, should
diplomacy yield no results, all the force allowed by law should
be utilized. "I am a humane person but the Bulgarian border is
inviolable and, should someone start committing outrages like
those in Greece, Bulgaria should use force," Karakachanov said.

RI/DS


/СН/