source: BETA       foto: BETA

BELGRADE, April 05 – The joint military – police forces of Serbia, after more than 20 months of engagements, handed over the jurisdiction of securing the state border to Bulgaria and Macedonia to the Ministry of the Interior of Serbia.

The joint forces of the Serbian Army and MUP have prevented more than 23, 000 migrants from attempting to cross the border and 154 cases of smuggling of 2,177 people since July 19, 2016 according to the Ministry of Defense.

134 citizens of Serbia, 17 citizens of Bulgaria, as well as citizens of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Netherlands, Austria, Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina were taken.

“The authorities ordered detention for up to 30 days for 122 people, and 39 criminal cases were filed in the ordinary course of action and were defended against them. A minor complaint was filed for two minors, and for nine people, the proceeding were suspended,” they said in a statement.

In addition to the linear way of securing the border, the Joint Force has engaged its organs in the depths of the territory, first by organizing checkpoints as well as by carrying out different control centers of communication in the depths of the territory.

Serbian Army in the Joint Force engaged mainly military police and infantry units, while Ministry of Interior engaged members of the Border Police, Gendarmerie, Intervention and other units.

“Assistance in securing the state border was also provided by the European Union by engaging police officers from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, France, Hungary and Austria and the Austrian Armed Forces who donated 30 binoculars for night observation to the Joint Forces for Securing the State Border,” the statement said.