Minsk 01:01

EU stops 52 illegal migrants at Belarus border

February 7, BPN. The EU has not allowed 52 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day.

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported that it had foiled one attempt by migrants in the Lithuanian-Belarusian border area on February 6, while their Latvian colleagues thwarted 24 attempts.

The Polish Border Guard said that 27 foreigners, including nationals of Yemen and Syria, tried to illegally cross the border from Belarus. 

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded a total of 2,388 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory, with 1,612 attempts via Poland, 487 via Latvia and 289 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.

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