EU stops 102 illegal migrants at Belarus border

July 24, BPN. The European Union (EU) has not allowed at least 102 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day after stopping 111 migrants on July 22. 

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service recorded 28 illegal attempts to cross the border on July 23 while their Latvian colleagues thwarted 20 attempts. 

The Polish Border Guard said that 54 foreigners, including nationals of Yemen, India and Eritrea, tried to illegally cross the border from Belarus.

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded at least 22,531 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory from Belarus, with 16,199 attempts via Poland, 4,969 via Latvia and 1,363 via Lithuania. Illegal migrants attempted to cross the Belarusian-EU border 3,311 times since the start of July.

BPN’s analysis of daily stats indicated growing tension at 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 4,719 in May and 3,701 in June.

The migration crisis at the Belarusian-EU border dates back to the spring of 2021. It escalated in November 2021, with thousands of migrants setting 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.