The government has decided to strengthen the protection of its southern borders and protect the safety of Hungarians living in the area, the Prime Minister said on Friday, adding that setting up a special border guard force will serve this goal.
“We will set up border hunter units tasked with safeguarding your security in collaboration with the police,” Viktor Orbán said in a video on Facebook.
In the first step, a total of 2,200 border guards will be trained and assigned to protect the borders, to be followed by expanding the force to 4,000, Orbán said, adding that he signed a relevant decree earlier in the day.
The Prime Minister also said the cabinet had held a long meeting on Thursday lasting for more than ten hours, which time was required because of the war in Ukraine that threatens not only Hungary’s economy, but its security as well.
The cabinet concluded at its meeting that several countries in Africa were running short on food supplies.
“As a result of the food crisis, migration pressure is expected to increase on Hungary’s southern borders, with several hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants setting off for Hungary and to Europe, in the coming weeks and months,” Orbán said, noting “an increase in the number of illegal entrants” in the recent past.
He underscored that “we are already feeling the first signs of this, with an increase in the number of illegal border crossings.” Their actions are becoming increasingly violent, even brutal. “Armed clashes have already occurred on the Serbian side, claiming a person’s life. It’s not uncommon for them to try to enter Hungary with their guns,” Viktor Orbán stressed.
Featured photo via Viktor Orbán’s official Facebook page
