Significantly fewer migrants, but the situation on the Latvian-Belarusian border is still tense / Article

Since April, 24 people have been detained from illegally crossing the Latvian-Belarusian border, but in the winter months the State Border Guard reported several hundred cases of detention. Since April, a fence has been built on the border, the court is not a permanent one, but new sections of a temporary fence. However, attempts have already been made to overcome the temporary triple barbed wire fence.

Juris Kusiņš, the Deputy Head of the Daugavpils Department of the State Border Guard, said:

The State Border Guard continues to operate under enhanced regime. This week’s decision already extended for the third time The emergency situation in several administrative territories of Latvia on the border with Belarus in the Ministry of the Interior was also justified by the need to act in concert with Lithuania and Poland. If in the winter there was more pressure on the Latvian border, now it is observed on the Lithuanian and Polish borders, the Ministry of the Interior explained.

Dmitry Trofimov, State Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior, said: pressure is expected.”

The pressure to build as soon as possible is also growing permanent fenceso far the success of the three countries has differed.

Trofimov said: “This year, as well as in Lithuania, it is planned to build this permanent fence in the planned priority stage. On the other hand, some elements that require more complex solutions, more construction capacity are expected at the beginning of next year. “

This week, the European Commission will decide on the allocation of additional funding to strengthen border surveillance in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, the Ministry of the Interior informed. As a long-term solution, changes to the Schengen Borders Code are being discussed, which would allow countries to continue the practice of expelling illegal migrants without prolonging the emergency.

Kusiņš, a representative of the Daugavpils administration of the State Border Guard, noted: [Aleksandrs] Lukashenko, and these statistics on the reduction of illegal migration from the Republic of Belarus must be treated with caution. “

Latvian Television also watched the presence of Belarusian border guards while visiting the border. Latvian border guards indicated that they practically no longer communicate with colleagues on the other side of the fence.

CONTEXT:

In the summer of 2021 the number of migrants increased significantly, which is trying to enter the territory of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland illegally from Belarus. Most migrants are arrived from Iraq.

Officials from the Baltic states and Poland pointed out that the Belarusian authorities deliberately do not obstruct the crossing of the borderto punish these countries for supporting the Belarusian opposition and sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.

The European Union will do so described as the deployment of hybrid warfare.

For the first time, the Latvian government has declared a state of emergency in four administrative territories – Ludza, Kraslava, Augšdaugava, Daugavpils – on the border with Belarus from 2021 August 11 to November 10. However, it was later extended until 2022 February 10after that until 10 Maybut later until 10 August.

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