EU stops 147 illegal migrants at Belarus border

September 20, Pozirk. The European Union (EU) has not allowed at least 147 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day.

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service recorded 11 illegal attempts to cross the border, while their Latvian colleagues thwarted 111 attempts. On September 19, Latvia closed the Silene border checkpoint until further notice, citing a surge in illegal migration from Belarus.

The Polish Border Guard said 25 foreigners, including Iranians and Syrians, tried to illegally enter from Belarus. 

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded at least 31,321 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory from Belarus, with 20,903 attempts via Poland, 8,738 via Latvia and 1,680 via Lithuania. Illegal migrants attempted to cross the Belarusian-EU border as many as 2,552 times in September.

Pozirk‘s analysis of daily stats indicated growing tension at the Belarusian-EU border, with Latvia turning into the prime target. Illegal border crossing attempts rose from 1,989 in January and 1,970 in February to 5,054 in July and 4.495 in August.

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.

On August 28, interior ministers of Poland and the Baltic States agreed to close their borders to Belarus in case of a surge in illegal migration.