{"id":137039,"date":"2025-05-07T11:29:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T08:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/137039\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"irregular-belarus-latvia-crossings-hit-19-months-high","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/137039\/","title":{"rendered":"Irregular Belarus-Latvia crossings hit 19-months high"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (granica.gov.pl)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

May 7, Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Latvia’s State Border Guard Service has not allowed at least 546 third-country foreigners to cross irregularly via Belarus since the start of this month, with 148 attempts recorded on May 1 alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Irregular crossings surged month on month after 130 attempts reported in early April and are comparable to early October 2023, when this number stood between 146 and 220.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The European Union countries have thwarted at least 1,180 irregular crossings via Belarus since the start of May, about 32 percent more than in April, with 570 attempts via Poland and 64 via Lithuania. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tensions at the Belarusian-Latvian border escalated last month, with irregular crossings surging from 118 in March to 1,666 in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU has recorded at least 9,624 irregular border crossings since the start of 2025, including 6,459 targeting Poland; 2,537, Latvia and 628, Lithuania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, the EU foiled at least 36,291 irregular border crossings at its shared border with Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flow of people desperate to get to the EU surged in spring 2021 after Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, angered by EU sanctions, had indicated that Minsk would not prevent asylum seekers from Africa and Asia from using Belarus as a route to the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus\u2019 western neighbors call the migration crisis a \u201chybrid attack\u201d orchestrated by Minsk and Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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