Army troops turn Davos into fortress ahead of WEF meet

Davos: As Davos readies to host its annual talkfest of rich and powerful from across the world, nearly 5,000 army personnel have been deployed to help police and civilian authorities secure this small Alpine resort town. Davos is estimated to have a permanent population of just about 10,000 but is frequented throughout the year by tourists including skiing enthusiasts in ski season, but it is the week of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting when it sees the maximum footfalls with at least 30,000 people in the town.

Given the high-profile nature of the event, beginning Monday, the security is both discreet and visible and comprises snipers, drone jammers, regular frisking and checking and round-the-clock patrol. In addition to army personnel, there is a huge number of police men and women, support staff running into thousands and then nearly 3,000 world leaders are attending this year's summit, and so are over 500 journalists. And there is no less number of tourists, it being a ski season. Armed forces began their deployment on January 9 itself and they would be here till January 25, according to Swiss Army. Air Force has also been tasked to monitor and secure the airspace.