Following a shootout at the Bulgarian border with Turkey on Monday, which saw the death of a Bulgarian police official, Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said the authorities would not hesitate to shoot if a similar situation arose again.
A 30-year-old Bulgarian border policeman was killed while guarding the external EU border with Turkey, where a significant part of the migrant flow from Afghanistan and the Middle East to Western Europe passes.
The Bulgarian authorities urgently requested assistance from Ankara to find the suspects, who they say escaped to Turkish territory, and on Tuesday evening, Turkish authorities announced the arrest of two people.
“They detained two people – one suspected of the murder and one suspected of helping. They are not Turkish citizens,” announced the Bulgarian deputy chief prosecutor Borislav Sarafov.
“As soon as we found out about what happened, the gendarmerie, commandos and specially trained police dogs were sent to the scene. For us, our relations with Bulgaria on the ‘security’ issue are key, and we are extremely satisfied with what has been achieved due to the cooperation between the two countries”, Turkish ambassador to Sofia, Aylin Sekizkök, said.
“But with such aggression, we will respond with the necessary force, and I assure you that if there are incidents, they will not be with our policemen,” said Demerdzhiev.
When asked if the border police would dare to shoot, the minister replied: “I will personally take responsibility, and they will dare.”
Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov suggested the construction of a concrete wall along the border with Turkey. The current metal fence was built during the second GERB government and cost over €100 million, but the general opinion is that it does little to stop migrants.
Two months ago, a bus driven by an irregular immigrant, carrying a group of irregular migrants, killed two policemen in Burgas.
(Krassen Nikolov | EURACTIV.bg)
Source: euractiv.com
