SARAJEVO, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) — An additional 100 officers will strengthen Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) Border Police due to the increased illegal entrance of migrants, it was announced on Tuesday.
After seven months of intense police training, hundred cadets were promoted in the “Police Officer” rank in BiH city of Mostar, some 130 kilometres southwest of the capital Sarajevo.
Director of Agency for Education and Professional Training Branko Vukoja said that young and well-trained police officers will reinforce the BiH Border Police as of Sept. 1, and contribute to a better security situation.
He added that BiH is currently burdened with various security threats such as the migration crisis, various forms of cross-border crime, and corruption.
“A very difficult job is in front of the policemen,” Vukoja emphasized, adding that they should do their work in a responsible manner.
Currently, 1,847 police officers work in the BiH Border Police at 83 border crossings. However, due to the increased number of illegal migrants crossings in 2018, there is a need for more police officers, especially on the eastern border with Serbia.
Some 11,000 migrants have entered BiH since the beginning of this year until Aug. 28, the country’s security minister Dragan Mektic revealed at a press conference on Tuesday in the city of Banja Luka. Some 80 percent enter BiH territory through Serbian border, using BiH as a transit country while en route to European Union (EU) countries.
