BERLIN (Sputnik) – Berlin may call some 4,000 German soldiers to assist in receiving refugees during the weekend, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said.
"We have called up almost 4,000 soldiers for this weekend alone," the minister said, as quoted by Der Spiegel on Friday.
According to the minister, 27 military units have been already involved in assisting refugees by accommodating them in army barracks.
Germany is among EU countries facing a rapidly escalating refugee crisis, as hundreds of thousands of people flee war-torn regions in the Middle East and North and Sub-Saharan Africa seeking refuge in the European Union.
Earlier this month, Germany opened its borders to some 20,000 migrants amid the refugee crisis. The country expects to take in a total of 800,000 migrants by the end of this year.
