EU stops 112 illegal migrants at Belarus border

March 28, BPN. The EU has not allowed 112 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day.

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported that thwarted two attempts by migrants to cross the border in the Lithuanian-Belarusian border area on March 27, while their Latvian colleagues thwarted 21 attempts.

The Polish Border Guard said that 89 foreigners, including Syrian nationals, tried to illegally cross the border from Belarus.

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded a total of 6,915 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory, with 5,095 attempts via Poland, 1,221 via Latvia and 599 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.