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REFUGEES

Van carrying migrants rams into police car in Bulgaria

Syrian refugees in a camp in Sofia, Bulgaria. (Credit: AFP)

A van smuggling 12 Syrian migrants crashed into a police car near the Bulgarian capital on Tuesday after the driver fled a police checkpoint, injuring an officer and some passengers.

The EU member has seen a sharp increase in the number of migrants trying to cross its border to move farther north to the Schengen visa-free zone in western Europe.

The driver of the minibus refused to stop at a checkpoint south of Sofia and sped away. He then crashed into a police car dispatched to stop it.

A 51-year-old policeman and a 20-year-old Syrian suffered head injuries, doctors at the Saint Anne's Hospital in Sofia said.

Three other passengers were hospitalized with minor injuries, while the driver — a Bulgarian with a prior police record who drove without a license — was also injured.

Interior ministry secretary-general Petar Todorov said he would resign, demanding tougher punishments for people smugglers, many of who currently get away with mere fines.

Two officers were killed in August when a bus smuggling people rammed into their police car near the Black Sea city of Burgas when they were trying to stop it.

A Bulgarian policeman was also shot dead earlier this month while patrolling the country's border with Turkey.

Bulgaria, a member of the European Union but not in the Schengen zone, shares a 269-kilometer-long (167-mile) land border with Turkey.

Since January, Bulgaria has arrested 14,427 people for sneaking into the country, compared with a total of 8,254 last year, according to the government.



A van smuggling 12 Syrian migrants crashed into a police car near the Bulgarian capital on Tuesday after the driver fled a police checkpoint, injuring an officer and some passengers.

The EU member has seen a sharp increase in the number of migrants trying to cross its border to move farther north to the Schengen visa-free zone in western Europe.

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