Lithuania declares emergency situation due to influx of immigrants from Belarus / Article

Lithuanian border guards detained an unprecedented number of illegal migrants last day – 150 people who tried to enter the country from Belarus. That’s three times more than ever before in a day.

The Lithuanian government decided on Friday evening to declare a state of emergency in connection with the influx of immigrants. The Minister of the Interior Agne Bilotaite has been tasked with resolving the situation. The Minister believes that the emergency rules will help to respond more quickly to this crisis. For example, municipalities will be obliged to provide accommodation for immigrants.

Migrants include people from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Syria and Iraq. Most of the immigrants have applied for asylum in Lithuania. All have now been tested for Covid-19 and migrants are being quarantined until the asylum procedure is launched.

This year, a total of more than 800 migrants from Belarus have arrived in Lithuania, compared to 81 migrants in 2020 and 46 migrants in 2019. Most migrants are Iraqi citizens, reports LRT.lt.

Lithuanian officials have pointed out that Belarus is to blame for the influx of illegal border crossers.

After the European Union imposed international sanctions on Minsk, Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian head of state, promised that he would no longer stop the flow of smuggling and illegal migrants across the Belarusian border.

Since then, an unprecedented number of people have been trying to enter Lithuania. In preparation for this trend to continue, a new migrant camp has been built in Lithuania and Vilnius has earmarked several million euros to improve security at the border with Belarus.

Now the European Union has also arrived Frontex expert group. The experts are from France, Hungary and Germany. Their task is to help Lithuanians patrol in those sections where there is less control. By mid-July, a total of 30 such experts will arrive in Lithuania, accompanied by their own specially equipped vehicles and weapons.

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