Czech Republic introduces border checks with Slovakia as part of exercise

The Czech Republic on Tuesday morning launched an exercise to test the performance of its security forces, with checks therefore being temporarily introduced on Czech-Slovak border crossings and on trains, the Czech police have announced on a social network. "Exercise Morava has started. The police, army and customs administration are practicing a fictitious situation in which the government orders the border with Slovakia to be closed due to illegal migration," the Czech police have posted on a social network. According to Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan, similar exercises take place on a regular basis. According to the Czech police, the number of migrants detained over the past two months has exceeded the figures seen during the migration crisis in 2015. According to Czech Police President Martin Vondrasek, they are detaining some one hundred illegal migrants on a daily basis, adding that 55 people-smugglers are currently being prosecuted in the Czech Republic. He said that illegal migrants are mainly coming to the Czech Republic from Syria, Afghanistan and Turkey. The exercise has been planned for 48 hours.