EU stops 130 illegal migrants at Belarus border

January 6, BPN. The EU has not allowed 130 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day. 

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported that it thwarted 30 attempts on January 5, after registering no attempts the previous day. In 2022, Lithuania recorded attempts by 11,211 attempts, and 40 attempts since the start of 2023. Latvia has reported a rise in documented attempts to 32 on January 5 from 23 the previous day.

The Polish Border Guard said that 68 foreigners tried to illegally cross the border from Belarus (66 the day before). Border guards arrested six persons for complicity in illegal migration, including two Belarusians who transported four Afghans and one Iranian.

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, 2022 but have risen more recently.