Influx of Asylum Seekers in Bulgaria Creates Problems – US Report

An influx of asylum seekers from Syria has exacerbated border security challenges, raised interethnic tensions, and challenged underfunded state agencies, said a US report. 

The annual US Department of State report on terrorism, released on Wednesday, notes that there are concerns that this flow of people could allow some foreign fighters to transit in and out of Bulgaria. 

“Bulgaria is slated to receive more than USD 7 M in aid from the EU specifically earmarked to assist with the influx of asylum seekers”, said the report, published on the Department of State website. 

The report also notes that Bulgaria continues the investigation of the bus  bombing at the Sarafovo airport in Burgas in 2012 and the cooperation between US and Bulgarian law enforcement agencies continues. 

Initial investigations indicate that the attack “was perpetrated by individuals affiliated with Lebanese Hizballah” reads the report. “In July, the Prosecutor General’s office invited Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) bomb technicians to Bulgaria to review the evidence, including photos, material, and a video re-creation of the event. The team, which arrived in October 2013, praised Bulgaria’s cooperation and the high quality of the re-creation.”