site.bta100,000-Plus Attempts to Cross Illegally from Turkiye into Bulgaria Registered in 2023

There have been over 100,000 attempts at illegal crossing of the Bulgaria-Turkiye border since the beginning of the year and 1,000 of these happened in the past 24 hours, Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov said Friday during Question Time. Until the end of July, 103,745 third country nationals attempted to cross into Bulgaria illegally, he added.

The minister pointed out that there has been a significant increase in illegal border crossings during the summer. The reported increase is nearly 57% for the border with Turkiye compared to this time last year, Stoyanov said.

The Interior Minister also said that 33 people have been assigned to take care of the maintenance of the fence along the border with Turkiye. According to him, this has a significant deterrent effect. More officers are expected to be deployed there, he added.

Stoyanov said that the authorities are working hard to obtain timely information about large groups of migrants preparing to sneak into or across Bulgaria.