EU stops 53 illegal migrants at Belarus border

June 6, BPN. The European Union has not allowed at least 53 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day, as Polish border guards thwarted the attempts by nationals of Afghanistan, Iran, Congo, Libya and Pakistan.

The Lithuanian and Latvian border guards did not record illegal border crossings on June 5. This is the third time in 2023 that only Poland detected illegal migrants.

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded at least 16,093 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory from Belarus, with 11,179 attempts via Poland, 3,737 via Latvia and 1,177 via Lithuania. Illegal migrants attempted to cross the Belarus-EU border 574 times since the start of June.

BPN’s analysis of daily stats indicates growing tension on the Belarusian-EU border, with Poland being the prime target. Illegal border crossing attempts rose from 1,989 in January and 1,970 in February to 3,401 in March, 3,440 in April, and 4,719 in May. 

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 in February 2022, but have risen more recently.