A Bulgarian transporting Syrian migrants ran into the police during a check on Tuesday, November 22, injuring a police officer and four passengers according to the Interior Ministry, which deplored the increase in incidents.
The vehicle, a minibus carrying twelve Syrians, did not stop at a checkpoint 40 kilometers south of the capital Sofia later hit a police car on the ring road.
“Epidemic of this kind of crime”
A 51-year-old policeman and a 20-year-old migrant suffered head injuries, with the official's life-threatening condition, St. Anne's Hospital in Sofia said.
Three passengers are hospitalized with minor injuries.
The driver, a Bulgarian who drove without a licence, known to the police, was also injured.
The Secretary General of the Ministry of the Interior, Petar Todorov, announced his resignation to denounce the inaction of the government, while the incidents have multiplied for three months.
"
We are witnessing an epidemic of this kind of crime
," said Marian Marinov, the investigating judge in charge of the investigation.
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Bulgaria, a member of the European Union (EU) but not of the Schengen area, shares 269 km of external land borders with Turkey and has seen an increase in clandestine crossings.
The incident is reminiscent of the one that occurred on August 25 in Burgas, on the shores of the Black Sea.
Two police officers died when they were hit by a migrant bus whose road they were blocking.
The authorities had then consolidated and equipped with cameras a 234 km long barbed wire fence.
A campaign against police and customs corruption has been launched.
Within the ministry, Petar Todorov had called for tougher legislation against smugglers, most of the time sentenced to simple fines.
Over 14,000 illegal immigrants arrested in Bulgaria since January
On November 8, a 30-year-old policeman who was patrolling the border was also killed by gunfire from Turkish territory.
Armed with a flashlight, the policeman came down after noticing a damaged part of the fence.
Since January, Bulgaria has arrested 14,427 illegal immigrants, compared to 8,254 in 2021, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
