Hungary has sent 3,800 soldiers to hurry completion of a fence along its 175-kilometre border with Serbia, Defence Minister Istvan Simicsko said Friday.
The first task is to finish the four-metre-high fence, which presently extends along parts of the border, while the rest is secured by coils of razor wire.
According to Europe Online, Simicsko told local news outlet TV2 channel that the army will help secure the border. “We need a stronger defence at the border, the fence alone is not enough,” he said. The move was flagged last week and comes as Hungary considers declaring a state of emergency as it is flooded with migrants transiting the country making their way from their Mediterranean arrival points northwards to Germany.
Mr Simicsko added: “I think there’s a huge weight on Hungary, and the Hungarian government does everything to deal with the situation and it does it using its own budget.
“A common European solution would be essential, also it would be essential to deal with the root of the problem at those places where the immigrants are fleeing from. Also it would be important to inform these immigrants because a lot of them are misled.
“We don’t know how many millions are coming, so we should make these actions to protect the Hungarian people. And we will do this and we will guarantee the protection of the Hungarian borders.”
The Hungarian parliament will decide on September 21 whether to allow the military to patrol the border alongside police.
The authorities declared the border barricade complete on August 31, but it did nothing to slow the surge of people crossing from Serbia. As Breitbart London has reported, the number of arrivals has instead steadily grown in recent weeks, reaching a new daily high of 3,321 registered on Wednesday.
Hungary is a main entry point to the European Union and has seen more than 145,000 refugees cross its borders since the beginning of this year, according to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Migrant arrivals have also risen in Austria, the next stop after Hungary for those travelling along the Balkan migration route from Turkey, across the Greek islands and mainland and on through Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary.
Hungary’s cabinet will consider declaring a state of emergency to deal with the surge of migrants streaming in from the south, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff Janos Lazar said.
The measure, proposed by the Interior Ministry, will be discussed in a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Mr Lazar said. Mr Orban, a conservative who has maintained a strong stance towards migrants, has said that Hungary is unwilling to host an endless flow of transiting people and ordered the construction of the fence.
Hungary has received criticism for its response but remains defiant, as Breitbart London has reported.
Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com
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