EU stops 23 illegal migrants at Belarus border

August 28, BPN. The European Union (EU) has not allowed at least 23 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day, after stopping 182 migrants on August 26.

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service recorded 14 illegal attempts to cross the border on August 27, while their Latvian colleagues thwarted three attempts.

The Polish Border Guard said six foreigners, including nationals of Yemen and Syria, tried to illegally enter from Belarus. A group of illegal migrants reportedly attacked Polish border guards with stones.

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded at least 28,431 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory from Belarus, with 20,192 attempts via Poland, 6,662 via Latvia and 1,577 via Lithuania. Illegal migrants attempted to cross the Belarusian-EU border as many as 4,157 times in August.

BPN‘s analysis of daily stats indicated growing tension at the Belarusian-EU border, with Poland being the prime target. Illegal border crossing attempts rose from 1,989 in January and 1,970 in February to 3,701 in June and 5,054 in July.

The migration crisis at the Belarusian-EU border dates back to the spring of 2021. It escalated in November 2021, with thousands of migrants setting up a camp near the Polish border. The Baltic states and Poland accused Belarusian authorities of creating the trouble, while the latter blamed it on the West.

Migration figures had dropped significantly by the time Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but have risen more recently.