EU stops 119 illegal migrants at Belarus border

December 31, BPN. The EU has not allowed 119 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day.

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported that it turned away 12 migrants in the Lithuanian-Belarusian border area. Since the beginning of the year, Lithuania has recorded 11,200 illegal attempts to cross the border.

The Lithuanian service, citing Latvia’s State Border Guard, said 55 illegal attempts to cross the Belarusian-Latvian border were documented.

The Polish Border Guard said that 52 foreigners tried to illegally cross the border from Belarus. Three nationals of Ukraine were arrested for facilitating illegal migration.

The migration crisis at the Belarusian-EU border dates back to the spring of 2021. It escalated on November 8, 2021 when thousands of migrants set 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 on February 24, but have risen more recently.