Demolition of Illegal Roma Buildings in Bulgaria's Garmen Continues

Demolition of the illegal Roma buildings in the Bulgarian village of Garmen continued on Tuesday.

Four buildings were demolished on Monday, while two more were targeted for demolition on Tuesday.

Roma residents hired an excavator and demolished the remaining two buildings themselves in order to avoid having to pay a higher price for the demolition organised by the municipality.

Meanwhile, local Roma announced that they are preparing to stage a protest in front of the building of parliament in Sofia on Thursday, private bTV station informs.

The Roma also threatened with blocking the road to Ribnovo and Kovachevitsa.

The tensions in the Roma neighbourhood were renewed on Monday after a man residing in one of the demolished buildings fainted.

Fortunately, physical clashes between local residents were avoided due to the presence of police and gendarmerie forces.

The tensions in Garmen have been heightened since May when a protest over loud music resulted in a massive fight between local residents.

This was followed by a series of protests against the illegal buildings in the Roma neighbourhood.

The first five of the 124 illegal buildings were demolished at the end of June.

The Regional Ministry assured that the remaining 113 buildings will also be demolished although the Roma are refusing to be provided with alternative accommodation.