Minsk testing Riga’s reaction to border provocations, Latvian official says

October 8, Pozirk. Belarus is deliberately testing Latvia’s reaction to provocations to see whether its border guards will take the bait and shoot toward the border, according to Ivars Ruskulis, deputy chief of the Latvian State Border Guard. 

Speaking on October 7 after a meeting of the parliamentary committee on citizenship, migration, and society cohesion, Ruskulis explained that current regulations do not allow border guards to open fire in the direction of Belarus to stop aggressive migrants or their handlers. Firearms may only be used in the event of a real threat to a duty officer and only in a way that is proportional and minimizes injury, he said. 

Ruskulis added that Latvian border guards are not allowed to fire their weapons because Riga could otherwise be accused of stoking a conflict with Minsk. 

According to the official, not a single irregular migrant or a person transporting migrants so far has been shot dead by border guards. Weapons were used on one occasion to stop smugglers’ vehicle inside Latvia, he said. 

Participants at the meeting reportedly discussed the latest incidents at the border with Belarus. The interior ministry announced an intention to draft amendments to regulations that would specify the grounds for border guards to use weapons against armed violators, aggressive migrants and saboteurs. 

A major incident occurred at the Latvian border on Tuesday evening when a group of masked gunmen attempted to push 20 migrants into the Latvian territory, shouting threats at Latvian border guards. Several hours later, masked individuals crossed the Latvian border from Belarus, damaged a relay cabinet and stole surveillance cameras before retreating to the Belarusian territory.

Latvia’s Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava condemned the incident as a “demonstrative and aggressive provocation.” Minsk “should realize that such incidents may result in more serious consequences for Belarus,” he warned.  

This year, the neighboring European Union countries have recorded almost 14,100 attempts at irregular entry from Belarus by undocumented third-country foreigners, with 11,900 attempts targeting Latvia, according to Pozirk’s analysis of border guards’ data.

On August 10, Latvia launched a special operation to minimize the irregular activity at the border with Belarus. Initially scheduled to end on September 1, the operation was extended until the end of 2026.

The flow of people eager to cross into the EU surged in spring 2021 after Alaksandar Łukašenka, angered by EU sanctions, had indicated that Minsk would not prevent asylum seekers from Africa and Asia from using Belarus as a route to the EU.

In June 2021, the Belarusian government suspended a readmission agreement with the EU in response to sanctions that followed the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk.

Latvia, Lithuania and Poland call the migration crisis a “hybrid attack” orchestrated by Minsk and Moscow.

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