Illegal Belarus-EU border crossings soar to 141 in 24 hours

April 14, BPN. The EU has not allowed 141 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day.

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported that it thwarted 10 attempts by migrants to cross the Lithuanian-Belarusian border on April 13, while their Latvian colleagues thwarted 41 attempts.

The Polish Border Guard said that 90 foreigners, including nationals of Pakistan, tried to illegally cross the border from Belarus.

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded a total of 8,760 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory, with 6,392 attempts via Poland, 1,583 via Latvia and 785 via Lithuania.

Border crossing attempts rose from 1,989 in January to 2,034 in February and 3,401 in March. 

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. Poland has been leading as the main destination for illegal migrants in 2023.