Official: Number of attempts to illegally cross Belarusian border ‘abnormally high’

The number of attempts to illegally cross the border with Belarus “is abnormally high”, Vilnis Vītoliņš, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior (MoI), told the Saeima Commission for Defence, Internal Affairs and Prevention of Corruption on Wednesday.

In January, more than 1 500 attempts were detected, while in February – more than 300 attempts to illegally cross the border, Vītoliņš said.

The parliamentary commission on Tuesday approved the extension of the state of emergency until 10 May in the regions of Ludza, Krāslava and Augšdaugava, as well as in Daugavpils.

There was no further discussion on the tense situation on the Latvian-Belarusian border.

It has already been reported that in view of the still tense migration situation on the Latvian-Belarusian border, the Government decided on Tuesday to extend the state of emergency in the regions of Ludza, Krāslava and Augšdaugava, as well as in Daugavpils, until 10 May.

Last summer, the government declared a state of emergency on the border with Belarus from 11 August.

As part of the hybrid offensive launched by the regime of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, since last spring there have been efforts in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to send thousands of illegal immigrants from Belarus, most of whom have come to Belarus as tourists from Iraq.

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