Bulgarian Troops Guarding Macedonia, Greece, Turkey Borders over Migrant Influx

A total of 111 troops are patrolling along Bulgaria's borders with three of its neighbors as of Sunday noon, Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev has said.

So far there is no information about "terrorist" having crossed the borders in the last weeks, in his words.

Nenchev has told bTV that the army is assisting border police which has been preparing for a possible influx of migrants from Turkey, Greece and Macedonia over the past days.

There has been a particular focus on Turkey recently, as hundreds of refugees, who Ankara says come from camps in the country's south, have been halted in the city of Edirne, on their way to Greece and Bulgaria.

Nenchev has warned that, while some refugees are "people fleeing the horrors of war", others are "economic migrants" while a third group are "likely to be affiliated to terrorist organizations."

He has downplayed suggestions that a scandal broke out with Turkey over the decision to dispatch troops along the borders.

This comes as the government, months earlier, had dismissed any possibility that the army be deployed for joint patrols. One of the arguments was the likely negative reaction from neighboring Turkey.

The minister has also asserted that Arabic Studies experts with the military intelligence are working at the borders and carrying out interviews with migrants to verify both their stories and national dialect of Arabic.

He has reminded of his intentions to send 1000 troops to border crossings in case of emergencies related to the migrant influx.