Body found at Horgos shows increasing violence in border region

The body of a young man discovered at Horgos on the Serbian side of the border shows that violent incidents linked to illegal migration have become frequent in Hungary’s border region, the prime minister’s chief security advisor told public current affairs channel M1 on Thursday.

Whereas in the past illegal migrants would run from police, it is now a common phenomenon along the entire Balkan route that they attack police officers, pelting stones at them and firing shots in the air, György Bakondi said.

Read alsoAsphalt paving on Budapest’s iconic Chain Bridge completed in one day — PHOTO GALLERY

“It should be clarified how people smuggler gangs have managed to obtain guns in the past six months,” he said.

Bakondi said it was important that the Serbian government responded to the discovery of the body at Horgos by making every effort to provide for the security of residents in the border region. “Hungarian police are cooperating with their Serbian colleagues in that effort,” he added.

He noted the Hungarian government’s measure of reinforcing the border fence and increasing its height to make it much harder to cut through or climb over using ladders.

Speaking to public broadcaster Kossuth Radio, Bakondi said Hungarian authorities had apprehended a record number of around 240,000 illegal migrants so far this year, up from 102,000 in the same period in 2021.