Dozens of volunteers with SUVs, ATVs and motorcycles went to help on Sunday night Lithuania border guards at Belarus borders to combat illegal migration.
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According to Laurīns Juozs Ļutkus, the organizer of the campaign, the volunteers from Vilnius, Kaunas, Panevėžys and Klaipeda have divided the border into three zones and 37 precincts and are going to patrol them until Sunday morning.
According to him, the volunteers are aware that they cannot participate in border guard operations, but want to help them.
Ģiedrjus Mišutis, a representative of the State Border Guard Service (SBGS), has indicated that the border guard welcomes this initiative and is waiting for information if the participants of the campaign have noticed migrants who have entered the territory of Lithuania. At the same time, the border guard reminded the volunteers that identity documents must be brought to the border area, but it is not allowed to enter the guarded area along the border without a special permit.
“We thanked them for the initiative, everything is fine, we are happy about it. They are allowed to be there and drive, they are given the telephone numbers of all the stations and it is said that if they notice anything suspicious, we will be waiting for this information so that the border guards can find out what is there. , “he told.
Lutkus added that only men were recommended to participate in the campaign, without taking women and children with them, because it could be dangerous.
According to him, since illegal migrants know that they will either be detained or returned, their actions may prove unpredictable, so when they notice them, participants are advised not to get out of cars, provoke conflicts and exacerbate the situation, but stay safe and report. on the border guards seen, indicating the number and coordinates of the persons observed. If the spotted migrants flee, the volunteers would follow them at a safe distance, reporting their movements to the border guards.
Each participant must sign that he / she has read the special instructions, in which he / she warns, among other things, not to cross the line marking the protected area.
Lutkus has indicated that this campaign is the first attempt to help border guards, but later volunteers will be able to apply for their help on their own.
Since August 3, when, according to the order of the Minister of the Interior Agnes Bilotaite, the border guards started to force migrants to return, more than 5,700 foreigners have been banned from crossing the border in unauthorized places. From the beginning of the year until now, almost 4,200 illegal migrants have been detained in Lithuania.
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