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Bulgaria has been accused of shooting a refugee after a new video emerged showing a young Syrian man being fired at on the border with Turkey.

It is the first footage of an asylum seeker being hit with live ammunition on the EU border.

It follows a joint investigation by Sky News, Lighthouse Reports, The Times, Le Monde, ARD Studio Wien, Domani and RFE/RL Bulgaria.

Footage taken on 3 October near the Bulgarian-Turkish border fence shows 19-year-old Abdullah El Rustum fall to the ground after a bullet goes through his hand and into his chest.

He has claimed he was shot by Bulgarian border officials after they caught his group illegally entering the country and pushed them back to Turkey.

“A green vehicle showed up with two Bulgarian officers in it. It came towards us and [they] started shooting in the air. They shot twice in the air and after that, they started shooting right in front of us on the ground,” he said.

“We didn’t get scared still and continued to argue this is not acceptable. ‘Why did you do this?’ After that, they hit me by shooting me directly,”

He added: “The way that he shot at me was a direct way and he intended to kill me.”

Bulgaria is part of the European Union and hopes to get membership of the Schengen area, which allows people to move freely across borders within it.

The country is often used as a gateway to get to other European countries.

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Mr El Rustum claims he was shot by Bulgarian border officials

Women searched in ‘sexual’ manner

Mr El Rustum claims an argument broke out after border officials searched women in the group in a “sexual” manner.

Mobile phone footage shows the group of asylum seekers throwing stones at the border fence from the Turkish side and swearing.

The tension then rises and a loud bang suddenly resounds through the forest.

A Land Rovery Discovery is seen in the mobile phone footage. We know these are used by the Bulgarian border forces
Image:
A Land Rover Discovery can be seen in the mobile phone footage, which the Bulgarian border forces are known to use

The person shooting cannot be clearly seen, but it is known that as well as the refugees, the Bulgarian border forces were on the scene.

As part of the investigation, the footage was sent for analysis to Steven Beck, an audio forensic expert.

He analysed the waveform and spectre of the file and found that they were consistent with a muzzle blast from a small firearm fired in the direction of the person recording.

The audio waveform of the gunshot were consistent with a muzzle blast from a small firearm. Picture - Beck Audio Forensics
Image:
The audio waveform of the gunshot were consistent with a muzzle blast from a small firearm. Pic: Beck Audio Forensics

Refugees ‘threw stones’

In the video, the person filming is facing towards the Bulgarian border.

Photos provided by the Bulgarian interior ministry show damage they say was caused by the stones thrown by the refugees.

According to its statement, a border policeman of the Sredets Border Police Station was injured by a stone.

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Bulgaria released images of damage they say was caused by stones thrown by refugees

The government says that the group burnt objects, and was hostile and aggressive.

It says an investigation was carried out and found “no shots were fired from our side”.

Illegal migration is a massive problem for Bulgaria.

Image:
Bulgaria claim a border policeman of the Sredets Border Police Station was injured by a stone thrown

Read more on Sky News:
Braverman vows to do ‘whatever it takes’ to tackle Channel crossings
Albanians ‘should be barred’ from claiming UK asylum

From the start of the year to 27 November, 153,460 people attempted to cross the Bulgarian-Turkish border, more than four times higher than in the period last year, according to official figures.

“Aggression by third-country nationals against GDBP [General Directorate Border Police] officers has increased significantly in recent times”, the Bulgarian interior ministry has claimed, adding that border guards at the fence were attacked with stones and flammable objects, injuring colleagues and damaging property.

According to the statement, two interior ministry officers recently died while trying to stop a bus with illegal migrants in the city of Burgas.

‘Disturbing pattern of threats’

The surge in illegal immigration has also raised concerns about people being unlawfully pushed back.

Earlier this year, the United Nations’ refugee chief warned of a “disturbing pattern of threats, intimidation, violence” on the EU’s central and southeastern borders.

Pushbacks “entail a variety of state measures aimed at forcing refugees and migrants out of their territory while obstructing access to applicable legal and procedural frameworks”, according to the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.

We travelled to the area near where Mr El Rustum was shot to try to find people crossing to Bulgaria.

It wasn’t long before we saw signs of asylum seekers on the move.

We found patches of ground littered with bottles, energy drinks, clothes and some Syrian snacks, makeshift rest areas before the long journey through the dense forests ahead.

Image:
Refugees allegedly threw stones at a Bulgarian Border Force vehicle

‘It’s better than being dead’

We stumbled upon a terrified group of Syrians who told us they were hoping for new futures in Europe as they fled the war at home.

After gaining their trust they told us their stories.

A 15-year-old showed us scars on his side and head that he said he got from being beaten by Bulgarian authorities on a failed crossing. This was his eighth attempt.

“One time we crossed the fence, and the Bulgarian police arrested us and started hitting us”, he said.

“They released dogs on us and then sent us back naked just wearing shorts.”

He claimed he saw someone shot in the leg by Bulgarian authorities two weeks ago after they tried to escape. Others in the group talked of systematic abuse.

A man named Kenan said once he was in a group that was arrested and taken by car to a forest.

“They put us in a hut and undressed us. Then they left us with a dog.”

We asked whether he was frightened of further violence on his next attempt.

“It is better than death. It’s better than death,” he said, referencing the fighting back in Syria.

Image:
Kenan said once he was in a group that was arrested and taken by car to a forest

‘More must be done’

And that’s the reality – fleeing war at home, most will risk beatings abroad.

The European Commission told Sky News that all border management must be rooted in respecting human dignity and the principle of non-refoulement.

Any allegations of violence or pushbacks are meant to be investigated by national authorities, according to Anitta Hipper, the EU Commission spokesperson for home affairs.

At a meeting at the end of November, EU home affairs ministers discussed the situation along all migratory routes and the challenges posed.

“In the past years, we have taken a number of measures to jointly address the migratory challenges we face”, Vit Rakusan, the Czech interior minister, representing the EU Council presidency, said.

“However, more can and must be done to find more sustainable solutions and adapt to the ever-evolving situation.”

The Bulgarian government denies the allegations, saying it follows international and domestic laws, adding aggression against border officials is increasing.

“Bulgarian security forces, with the help of Frontex, are on the front line every day to protect all European citizens,” the interior ministry said.

But the accusations are disturbing – threats, violence and intimidation routinely wielded on the edge of Europe.

Additional reporting by Dorothee Thiesing, Europe producer, and Adam Parker, OSINT editor.

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Climate-vulnerable islands storm out of COP29 negotiation room in row over funding

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Climate-vulnerable islands storm out of COP29 negotiation room in row over funding

Representatives of dozens of climate vulnerable islands and African nations have stormed out of high-stakes negotiations over a climate funding goal.

Patience is wearing thin and negotiations have boiled over at the COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan, which were due to finish yesterday but are now well into overtime.

After two weeks of talks, the more than 190 countries gathered in the capital Baku are still trying to agree a new financial settlement to channel money to poorer countries to both curb and adapt to climate change.

Talks have now run well into overtime at COP29, but a deal now feels much more precarious.

The least developed countries like Mozambique and low-lying island nations like Samoa say their calls for a portion of the fund to be allocated to them have been ignored.

Samoa’s minister of natural resources and environment Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster is one of the representatives who walked out.

“We are here to negotiate but we have walked out… at the moment we don’t feel we are being heard in there,” he said on behalf of more than 40 small island and developing states, whose shorelines are being lost to rising sea levels.

More on Cop29

Shortly after he made a veiled threat of leaving COP29 altogether, saying: “We want nothing more than to continue to engage, but the process must be INCLUSIVE.

“If this cannot be the case, it becomes very difficult for us to continue our involvement here at COP29.”

Evans Njewa, who chairs a group of more than 40 least developed countries, said the current deal is “unacceptable for us. We need to speak to other developing countries and decide what to do.”

The last official draft on Friday pledged $250bn a year annually by 2035.

This is more than double the previous goal of $100bn set 15 years ago, but nowhere near the annual $1.3trn that experts say is needed.

Sky News understands some developed countries like the UK were this morning willing to bump up the goal to $300bn.

Developing countries are angry not just about the finance negotiations, but also on how to make progress on a pledge from last year to “transition away from fossil fuels”.

A group of oil and producing countries, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, have tried to dilute that language, while the UK and island state are among those that have fought to keep it in.

Mr Schuster said all things being negotiated contain a “deplorable lack of substance”.

He added: “We need to see progress and follow up on the transition away from fossil fuels that we agreed last year. We have been asked to forget all about that at this COP, as though we are not in a critical decade and as though the 1.5C limit is not in peril.”

“We need to be shown the regard which our dire circumstances necessitate.”

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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At least 11 killed in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities say

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At least 11 killed in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities say

At least 11 people have been killed and 63 injured in an Israeli strike on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.

Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dug through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.

State-run National News Agency (NNA) said the attack “completely destroyed” an eight-storey residential building in the Basta neighbourhood early on Saturday.

Footage broadcast by Lebanon’s Al Jadeed station also showed at least one destroyed building and several others badly damaged around it.

The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut, where four people were killed in an Israeli airstrike
Image:
The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut, where four people were killed in an Israeli airstrike

Map of Lebanon and Israel

The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack – the fourth targeting the centre this week.

At least four bombs were dropped in the attack, security sources told Reuters news agency.

The blasts happened at about 4am (2am UK time).

A seperate drone strike in the southern port cuty of Tyre this morning killed one person and injured another, according to the NNA.

The blasts came after a day of bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs and Tyre. The Israeli military had issued evacuation notices prior to those strikes.

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.

Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.

Read more:
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‘Dozens’ of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike

US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the war in Gaza.

Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.

According to the Lebanese health ministry, Israel has killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon and wounded more than 15,000.

It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.

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Vladimir Putin vows to increase production of Russia’s ‘unstoppable’ missile – as NATO and Ukraine to hold talks

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Vladimir Putin vows to increase production of Russia's 'unstoppable' missile - as NATO and Ukraine to hold talks

President Vladimir Putin has said Russia will ramp up the production of a new, hypersonic ballistic missile.

In a nationally-televised speech, Mr Putin said the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was used in an attack on Ukrainian city Dnipro in retaliation for Ukraine’s use of US and British missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory.

Referring to the Oreshnik, the Russian president said: “No one in the world has such weapons.

“Sooner or later other leading countries will also get them. We are aware that they are under development.”

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Putin’s warning to the West

Russia war latest: Long-awaited US air defences arrive in Ukraine

He added: “We have this system now. And this is important.”

Detailing the missile’s alleged capabilities, Mr Putin claimed it is so powerful that using several fitted with conventional warheads in one attack could be as devastating as a strike with nuclear weapons.

More on Russia

General Sergei Karakayev, head of Russia’s strategic missile forces, said the Oreshnik could reach targets across Europe and be fitted with either nuclear or conventional warheads – while Mr Putin alleged Western air defence systems will not be able to stop the missiles.

Mr Putin said of the Oreshnik: “There is no countermeasure to such a missile, no means of intercepting it, in the world today. And I will emphasise once again that we will continue testing this newest system. It is necessary to establish serial production.”

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Testing the Oreshnik will happen “in combat, depending on the situation and the character of security threats created for Russia“, the president added, stating there is “a stockpile of such systems ready for use”.

NATO and Ukraine are expected to hold emergency talks on Tuesday.

Meanwhile Ukraine’s parliament cancelled a session as security was tightened following the strike on Dnipro, a central city with a population of around one million. No fatalities were reported.

EU leaders condemn Russia’s ‘heinous attacks’

Numerous EU leaders have addressed Russia’s escalation of the conflict with Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk saying the war is “entering a decisive phase [and] taking on very dramatic dimensions”.

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Russia’s new missile – what does it mean?

Speaking in Kyiv, Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky called Moscow’s strike an “escalatory step and an attempt of the Russian dictator to scare the population of Ukraine and to scare the population of Europe”.

At a news conference, Mr Lipavsky gave his full support for delivering the additional air defence systems needed to protect Ukrainian civilians from the “heinous attacks”.

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