BELGRADE, Serbia

Hungary is dispatching another police contingent to Serbia to help it prevent illegal border crossings, an official confirmed Thursday.

“It is our obligation to prevent illegal migrants from entering our country and the territory of the European Union, so we closely cooperate with the relevant authorities of neighboring countries,” said Balazs Laszlo, the head of Hungary's border police department.

Laszlo said 28 officers have been dispatched to Serbia who will be tasked with detecting and preventing illegal border crossings and participating in the arrests of human traffickers and illegal migrants.

“The constant cooperation between the Hungarian and Serbian police has resulted in a drop in the number of attempts to illegally cross the southern part of the border,” he added.

It will be the third contingent of Hungarian officers who will be serving in Serbia.

The leaders of Hungary, Austria and Serbia met in Hungary's capital Budapest in October 2022 and agreed to expand cooperation in fighting irregular migration.

In October last year, three people were killed in armed clashes between people smugglers. As a result, Serbian and Hungarian police agreed to work together in their border area to tackle the criminal gangs involved.