A Bulgarian policeman who was patrolling the border with Turkey in a context of strong migratory pressure was killed on Monday evening, November 7, by shots from Turkish territory, the Bulgarian government announced on Tuesday November 8.

A Bulgarian policeman, who was patrolling the border with Turkey in a context of strong migratory pressure, was killed Monday evening November 7 by gunfire from Turkish territory, the government announced on Tuesday November 8, 2022.

A Bulgarian policeman, who was patrolling the border with Turkey in a context of strong migratory pressure, was killed Monday evening November 7 by gunfire from Turkish territory, the government announced on Tuesday November 8, 2022.

Bulgarian policeman killed in Turkey : “An unprecedented act”

The 30-year-old, carrying a flashlight, got out of his vehicle near the village of Golyam Dervent after noticing a damaged spot of the barbed wire fence that covers almost the entire 259 km border. “Shots were then fired and he died instantly,” killed by a bullet in the head, Petar Todorov, secretary general of the Interior Ministry, told reporters after a visit to the scene.

A soldier who accompanied the policeman “managed to take cover behind the car”, he said. According to the soldier’s account, 10 to 15 shots were fired through the barrier as a group of migrants and smugglers fled. “This is an unprecedented act, the first firearm attack in years” against the police, reacted Interior Minister Ivan Demerdjiev.

“We have received guarantees from the Turkish authorities that (the culprits) will be located and brought to justice,” he said, adding that the police would now be armed with more powerful weapons to defend themselves.

A Bulgarian policeman, who was patrolling the border with Turkey in a context of strong migratory pressure, was killed Monday evening November 7 by gunfire from Turkish territory, the government announced on Tuesday November 8, 2022.

The 30-year-old, carrying a flashlight, got out of his vehicle near the village of Golyam Dervent after noticing a damaged spot of the barbed wire fence that covers almost the entire 259 km border. “Shots were then fired and he died instantly,” killed by a bullet in the head, Petar Todorov, secretary general of the Interior Ministry, told reporters after a visit to the scene.

A soldier who accompanied the policeman “managed to take cover behind the car”, he said. According to the soldier’s account, 10 to 15 shots were fired through the barrier as a group of migrants and smugglers fled. “This is an unprecedented act, the first firearm attack in years” against the police, reacted Interior Minister Ivan Demerdjiev.

“We have received guarantees from the Turkish authorities that (the culprits) will be located and brought to justice,” he said, adding that the police would now be armed with more powerful weapons to defend themselves.

The European Commission “shocked and saddened”

The European Commission, which said it was “shocked and saddened”, said on Tuesday that Europol, the EU agency for police cooperation, was “in contact with the Bulgarian authorities to give full support to the investigation”. , according to a spokeswoman for the European executive.

Bulgaria had already reinforced measures and sent additional troops to the border after the death of two police officers hit by a bus carrying migrants, at the end of August in the city of Bourgas on the Black Sea.

The minister reported escalating migratory pressure. In the first nine months of 2022, around 12,700 illegal immigrants were detained in the country, i.e. 2.5 times more than in the nine months of 2021, according to official figures, with also a sharp increase in the number of refoulements.

#

Comments are closed