EU stops 109 illegal migrants at Belarus border

April 2, BPN. The EU has not allowed 109 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day.

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported that it thwarted nine attempts in the Lithuanian-Belarusian border area on April 1, while their Latvian colleagues foiled three attempts.

The Polish Border Guard said that 97 foreigners, including nationals of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, tried to illegally cross the border from Belarus.

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded a total of 7,533 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory, with 5,597 attempts via Poland, 1,311 via Latvia and 625 via Lithuania.

Monthly data show the growing tension at the Belarus-EU border, with a total of 1,989 illegal border crossing attempts in January, 2,034 in February and 3,401 in March. Poland has been leading as the main destination for illegal migrants in 2023.

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.