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DEFENCE MIN OFFICIAL: RENEWED MIGRATION PRESSURE UPS THE ANTE IN DEFENCE ON SOUTHERN BORDER

 

Thousands of soldiers are being mobilised once more to defend Hungary’s southern border due to a big increase in migration pressure in the Balkans, a defence ministry official said. Szilárd Németh, the parliamentary state secretary of defence, told a press conference that reports of the Hungarian secret services and their foreign counterparts indicated that illegal migration pressure in the Balkans has grown dramatically. Concurrently, police involved in border defence are needed elsewhere due to an intensification of duties over the summer, he said, adding that more soldiers were necessary to relieve them of their tasks on the border. Fully 650 active soldiers will be supported by 200 other soldiers carrying out logistical tasks and another 150 personnel in other support roles. The army is carrying out reconnaissance, including with helicopters, participating in patrols, riot control and canine patrols, he said, adding that a reserve of 1,000 soldiers is on standby to be deployed within 24 hours as needed.
Meanwhile, Németh said in an interview to public television M1 that migration pressure on the border usually increased during the summer when illegal migrants leave their camps. He accused “fake NGOs” linked to billionaire George Soros of working busily, and he said that “human smugglers and pro-migrant politicians in Brussels” were still active.