An Afghan migrant was accidentally shot as Bulgarian police tried to detain a group of 55 undocumented migrants who have illegally crossed the border from Turkey and resisted, the Interior Ministry said.
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Officers fired warning shots into the air and “a migrant was injured by a ricochet – according to the testimony of one of the three police officers – and succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital”, he said.
Interior Ministry chief of staff Georgi Kostov said that the incident occurred around 10 p.m. on Thursday near the southern city of Sredets.
“Malinov has made the comment in an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio in the aftermath of an incident near Bulgaria’s border with Turkey, where a supposedly Afghan migrant Migrant+Shot+Dead+in+Bulgaria+near+Border+with+Turkey” was killed by a border police bullet.
Boris Cheshirkov, the UNHCR spokesman, condemned the use of force against refugees, and told the Bulgarian officials to investigate the incident thoroughly.
“I call… on asylum-seekers not to commit actions that run counter to European and Bulgarian legislation and to respect laws that are binding to all”, he said in a statement. We call on the Bulgarian authorities to conduct an immediate, transparent and independent investigation.
“Later reports, however, say the ricochet was Migrant+in+Bulgaria+%27Rebounded+off+Bridge%27” off a bridge under which migrants were hiding.
Bulgaria’s premier has apparently been forced to leave the Brussels summit and fly back home.
They described agreement on a border “management system”, with EU Council President Donald Tusk saying: “Frontex (is) to be given right to return irregular migrants on its own initiative and become more proactive in protecting external borders”.
The 28-nation European Union has been left more divided than ever by the migration crisis, especially given fears the Schengen zone could collapse as countries try to curb the huge numbers of migrants criss-crossing the continent.
Unlike Greece, migrants entering Bulgaria are subject to a registration procedure and must normally wait several months before obtaining refugee status allowing them to travel in Europe.
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“For me it is the next argument of how important our discussion was tonight”.
