LJUBLJANA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Slovenian police are considering introducing additional measures to cope with significant increase of illegal migrants crossing the Slovenian-Croatian border recently, the national media STA reported.
Melita Mocnik, head of the border police at the Ljubljana General Police Administration, told a press conference on Wednesday held at Rosalnice near Metlika, border city with Croatia, that the pressure on the Slovenian southern border was "quite big".
Between 50,000 and 60,000 people are moving towards Slovenia from Greece, and the number of illegal crossings of the border is expected to rise in the warm summer months, she noted.
She said the police may decide to call in the reserves like during last year's tourist season. If the situation escalates, Mocnik said this would be "very probable".
The Slovenian police are in constant contact with the Croatian counterparts on the national and regional levels and will enroll over a hundred fresh police officers to join the work on the border, the STA reported, citing the senior officer.
Mocnik also noted that Slovenia would not exclude the possibility of seeking international assistance, in case the pressure on Slovenia's southern border rises significantly.
As to the recent trends in illegal migration, she said, compared to the first wave of mass migrations, when mostly Syrians had entered the country, now the police were dealing mostly with people from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Pakistan.
According to police record, in the first four months of the year, the number of persons caught crossing the land border illegally in the Koper area rose by from 162 to 526 year on year, while the Novo Mesto Police Department recorded 509 illegal migrants so far this year, which compares to 62 in the same period last year.
