The Hungarian government has announced that it will double the number of soldiers patrolling the borders “in light of increasing migration pressure”.
Speaking at the border police base in Madaras, Szilárd Németh, state secretary at the defense ministry, said the number of illegal entrants had grown almost tenfold in 2019, to 3,299. He added that the authorities expected that number to grow further in the future.
According to MTI, Németh said Hungarian soldiers had been patrolling the borders with police officers since 2015 and will continue to do so.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant general Gábor Böröndi, deputy commander of the Hungarian Army, said that the number of soldiers in the border control mission would increase from 50 to 100 today. With auxiliary staff included, the move will bring the total number to 500 and will be in force “as long as necessary”.
Photo credit: MTI