Hungarian police leave to patrol Macedonian-Greek border

Budapest, January 4 (MTI) – Hungary on Monday sent off 31 police officers to take up patrol duties on the Macedonian-Greek border for a one-month period.

The officers were sent off by Janos Balogh, commander of Hungary’s operational police force.

Referring to Macedonia’s recently-built border fence aimed at stemming the flow of illegal entrants, the commander told the officers that although they will be serving in a new environment, they would be carrying out tasks they are already familiar with.

Hungary’s police officers will be tasked with managing the entry of thousands of migrants that arrive in Macedonia on a daily basis. They will contribute transport vehicles and thermographic cameras to the mission, Balogh said.

The commander said the migrants risk more than just the journey itself to get to Europe: they will often outright defy authorities and even resort to aggression against them. Balogh added, at the same time, that order can be established and maintained with the right technical and legal solutions.

Hungary and Macedonia’s prime ministers agreed in December that Hungary would contribute to Macedonia’s border protection efforts.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters