Bulgaria, anti-immigrant patrols at the border with Turkey

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22/02/2017

Several groups of self-proclaimed "Bulgarian patriots" are patrolling the border between Bulgaria and Turkey, with no reaction from Sofia's government: their proclaimed goal is to defend their country and the EU from a migrants' "invasion"

"Most of the migrants are not fleeing from conflict, but represent a Trojan horse of the Islamic State, capable of provoking a religious war in Europe and sabotage our welfare state". This is the stance of the ''Military UnionVasil Levski ", the largest one among the self-proclaimed vigilante's groups active on the Bulgarian-Turkish border.

The Union claims it doesn't commit any crime, as its members simply hand over refugees to the Bulgarian police ("but not to Frontex, which doesn't help at all"). Leading human rights organization openly oppose this position. The paroxysmal tones and the explicit paramilitary nature of the group - at least for now - haven't convinced the Bulgarian government to intervene.

In this OBCT video-report (images Francesco Martino, editing Davide Sighele) a few moments of the "patrolling and training activities" of the group, in the woods surrounding the town of Malko Tarnovo.

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