EU stops 160 illegal migrants at Belarus border

October 10, Pozirk. The European Union (EU) has not allowed at least 160 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day.

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service registered 22 border violations, while their Latvian colleagues thwarted 69 attempts.

The Polish Border Guard said 69 foreigners, including nationals of Iran, Syria and Somalia, tried to illegally enter from Belarus. Border guards recorded two incidents when foreigners threw stones at them. 

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded at least 34,817 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory from Belarus, with 21,897 attempts via Poland, 10,903 via Latvia and 2,017 via Lithuania. Illegal migrants attempted to cross the Belarusian-EU border as many as 1,593 times in October.

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 peaked at 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.

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