Police armed with machine guns patrol the streets where the incidents occurred. “Everyone should realize that there is order in this city,” emphasized the Mayor of the capital, Vassil Terziev. Minister Stoyanov appealed not to exploit what he considered to be “isolated” incidents for political purposes.

Stoyanov discussed the measures taken by the Ministry of Internal Affairs at a meeting with Terziev and the head of the association of restaurant owners, Richard Alibegov. The Mayor stressed the importance of synchronizing the activities of the police and local government security services. He explained that the issue extends beyond migrants to include local youth who disrupt public order in frequently visited areas, including those around migrants’ residences and in parks.

Earlier in March, several clashes occurred between migrants and groups of young Bulgarians in downtown Sofia. Overnight from Saturday to Sunday, the police temporarily detained over 100 people, and the four most active participants in the incident were arrested.

Escalation in tensions

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, this is not an ethnic conflict. However, the association of restaurateurs and the majority of the capital’s councilors hold a different opinion, fearing that ethnic tensions will escalate following the recent increase in the number of migrants in the capital.

The incidents escalated after Austria and several other Western countries began returning migrants who had crossed the EU border into Bulgaria. This was one of the conditions for Austria lifting its veto on Bulgaria’s (for now partial) admission to the Schengen area.