Over 34,000 migrants now seeking asylum in Serbia

The number of migrants passing through Serbia has increased significantly since the beginning of the year, Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic has said.
Source: Tanjug Friday, June 26, 2015 | 16:11

(Tanjug)

Over 34,000 people have expressed the intent to request asylum in Serbia, he revealed on Friday during a meeting in Belgrade of Serbian, German, Austrian, Hungarian and Bulgarian police officials dedicated to the problem of irregular migration.
Stefanovic noted that most of those people have not requested asylum because, to them, Serbia is a transit country on their way to Germany, France, as well as Sweden and other Scandinavian countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

"For the problems of illegal migrants, a practical solution and specific methods must be found that will help us to protect the state borders and, at the same time, act lawfully and provide the right to asylum to people who come from war-affected regions and meet the requirements," Stefanovic said.

He asked his German, Austrian, Hungarian and Bulgarian colleagues for help and support in the form of technical equipment - thermal vision cameras, vehicles and sensors - as well as staff capable of providing assistance in registration and control of irregular migrants.