EU stops 43 illegal migrants at Belarus border

February 2, BPN. The EU has not allowed 43 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day.

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported that it had foiled 13 attempts by migrants in the Lithuanian-Belarusian border area on February 1, while their Latvian colleagues thwarted six attempts. 

The Polish Border Guard said that 24 foreigners, mostly Syrians, tried to illegally cross the border from Belarus. 

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded a total of 2,032 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory, with 1,422 attempts via Poland, 378 via Latvia and 232 via Lithuania.

The migration crisis at the Belarusian-EU border dates back to the spring of 2021. It escalated in November 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 in February 2022, but have risen more recently.