Members of Serbia's army and gendarmerie patrol the border, trying to prevent the entry of illegal migrants from Bulgaria, near the town of Vlasina (400 km from Belgrade), Serbia, 4 August 2016. EPA/BGNES

Serbia has turned back 2,275 irregular migrants attempting to enter from Bulgaria since deploying joint army and police patrols on its side of the common border on July 22, the AP has reported citing a Serbian military spokesman.

Another 454 migrants were detained inside Serbia and were sent to refugees centres, the newswire quoted Serbia's military spokesman Jovan Krivokapic as saying on Monday.

Serbia's government approved the deployment of joint army and police teams at the country’s borders with Bulgaria and Macedonia to control the inflow of migrants. Most of the migrants aim to reach Hungary via Serbia and continue their journey north to wealthier EU states.

The government in Belgrade proposed earlier this month to help Bulgaria protect its southern border where most irregular migrants cross into Bulgaria before moving west to Serbia. The proposal to send Serbian patrols to help their Bulgarian counterparts was made at a meeting between the interior ministers of the two Balkan neighbours.