Riga, August 31. / TASS /. Latvian Minister of Defense Artis Pabriks said on Tuesday that the situation on the Latvian-Belarusian border, where there is an influx of illegal immigrants, is complicated and tense.
“We are seeing the creation of additional camps, the installation of tents, we are witnessing the emergence of various weapons. So far, we are talking about small arms, but still weapons that are more dangerous than usual. We see an increase in intelligence activities throughout it, “he was quoted as saying by the Latvian Radio and Television News Portal:” Of course, all this is. “It simply came to our notice then.
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However, he emphasized that Latvians have nothing to worry about. “Yes, we are under pressure due to mixed attacks and the transfer of migrants to our borders. Yes, of course we may have various incidents, so we have urged the Belarusian side to use common sense, but we should not exaggerate the potential threat either. “
At its meeting on Tuesday, the Latvian government amended the decree declaring a state of emergency on the border with Belarus. In the future, the Republic will provide, if necessary, food, basic necessities and medical assistance to illegal immigrants trapped between the two countries. The decision came after the European Court of Human Rights ordered Poland and Latvia to provide housing and clothing for Middle Eastern refugees.
Latvia was next to Lithuania in the face of the problem of the influx of illegal immigrants from the territory of Belarus. Since 10 August, 770 people have been banned from crossing the border illegally, including 21 in the last 24 hours. A total of 377 people have been arrested since the beginning of the year. To protect the surroundings, Riga strengthened border controls and mobilized the resources of the state border guards and the armed forces. From 11 August to 10 November, the Latvian government declared a state of emergency at the border to give border guards the right to expel migrants to Belarus.
The Latvian government also decided to speed up the construction of infrastructure on the border with Belarus, which began several years ago, and agreed to allocate 1.7 million euros for the installation of a barbed wire fence there. A total of around € 30 million is needed to complete the construction of the border infrastructure.
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