site.btaUPDATED "No Change in Bulgaria's Security Environment" amid Developments in Middle East

No change has been observed in the security environment along the Bulgarian border and in the country's interior, caretaker Minister of Interior Atanas Ilkov said in the National Assembly on Wednesday during a hearing on the security situation in this country amid developments in the Middle East, more specifically Syria.

Ilkov said his ministry is closely watching the situation and migrant movements. "We have made arrangements to receive information from the security services about Syria, Gaza and Lebanon," he noted.

More than 20 Syrian nationals residing in Bulgarian migrant camps have asked to be allowed to return home, he said.

"The data feed is constantly analyzed, on the basis of which actions are planned to respond to any change in the security environment. The plan of action in a complicated migratory situation will be activated, if necessary," Ilkov said.

Possible future measures include sending additional staff to the Bulgarian-Turkish border, setting up a taskforce at the Interior Ministry and having the Defence Ministry commit troops and equipment. "In the event of increased migratory pressure, all competent state authorities will be engaged according to the plan of the Council of Ministers," the Interior Minister said.

He noted that the Frontex forces in Bulgaria have been increased threefold. Under an agreement with Austria, Hungary and Romania, a 100-strong unit will service the Bulgarian-Turkish border from January 2 onward. Greece has proposed to join in.

Currently, the trend of 70% fewer attempts to cross the Bulgarian-Turkish border illegally compared to 2023 is maintained. The number of illegal migrants detected within the country is 46% less compared to last year, the Minister said.

According to the Ministry of Interior's data on the migration situation in Bulgaria, a total of 1,298 Syrian citizens were detected and detained upon entry at the state border from January 1 to November 11, 2024, which is 53.7% of their total number. During the same period, 1,491 Syrian nationals were detected and detained upon exiting the country period, or 48,2% of the total number of violators. The third-country nationals detained for illegal stay in the country numbered 4,403, of whom 62.7% from Syria and 21.5% from Afghanistan.

As at November 29, there were 285 people accommodated at homes of the Interior Ministry's Migration Directorate and 1,656 at the centres of the State Agency for Refugees. Of them, Syrian nationals numbered 147 and 1,398, respectively.