EU stops 181 illegal migrants at Belarus border

October 11, Pozirk. The European Union (EU) has not allowed at least 181 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day.

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service registered 29 border violations, while their Latvian colleagues thwarted 47 attempts.

The Polish Border Guard said 105 foreigners, including nationals of India, Iran and Syria and Somalia, tried to illegally enter from Belarus. Foreigners reportedly threw stones and burning tree branches at border guards.  

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded at least 34,998 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory from Belarus, with 22,002 attempts via Poland, 10,950 via Latvia and 2,046 via Lithuania. Illegal migrants attempted to cross the Belarusian-EU border as many as 1,774 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.