200 ARRESTED AFTER CLASHES WITH POLICE IN REFUGEE ACCOMMODATION CENTRE IN BULGARIA’S TOWN OF HARMANLI, POLICE OFFICERS INJURED

Tension in the refugee camp in Bulgaria’s town of Harmanli, South-central Bulgaria, escalated about midday on 24^th of November when about 2,000 of accommodated in the camp turned out in a protest against a ban to leave the camp.

At the beginning of the week, the refugee camp was placed under quarantine because of concerns by local residents of spreading of infectious skin diseases, including scabies and leishmaniasis. Some of the migrants were supposedly ill with malaria.

The unrest escalated about noon. The inhabitants in the refugee centre were throwing stones against the police and set fire to tyres. The situation calmed in the afternoon after the intervention of the gendarmerie and negotiations with the Head of Bulgaria’s State Agency for Refugees, Petya Parvanova, but in the evening there were further clashes with the security forces. The unrest escalated and 14 police officers were injured.

The chief secretary of Bulgaria’s Ministry of Interior , Georgi Kostov, said that one of the police officers had a serious head injury. He confirmed that over 200 were detained and pre-trial proceedings would be initiated. He said that a large amount of state property had been destroyed.

Kostov explained that the police used water cannons and rubber bullets to restore the order at the centre.

Bulgaria’s outgoing Prime Minister Boyko Borissov also arrived at the site in the evening.