Latvia warns that the situation on the border with Belarus is “quite tense”

The Latvian border authorities have warned this Thursday that the situation in the regions bordering Belarus has been “quite tense” since April, as a result of the increase in attempts to cross irregularly into Baltic territory.

“Illegal migrants on the Belarus border have become noticeably more aggressive this year,” said the head of the State Border Guard, Guntis Pujats, in an interview for Latvijas Radio, in which he reported an increase of up to 800 people trying to cross compared to last year.

Thus, so far this year, 7,634 people have attempted to cross from Belarus irregularly. “In the first half of the year, for example, there are days when more than 200 people try to enter Latvia,” he said.

In this sense, he pointed out that Latvia has become during these months “the main destination” for all these people, unlike other countries, such as Poland and Lithuania, which have also been registering this phenomenon in recent times. “A great effort is being made,” he highlighted.

Pujats has pointed directly to the “Belarusian regime” as the main responsible for this new situation, in line with the complaints that neighboring countries have been issuing in recent years about Minsk instigating these problems on the border to destabilize the region.

“We have to use special equipment, weapons and warning shots to prevent illegal border crossings,” said Pujats, who has reported an increase in arrests of people smugglers. However, he has recognized that they cannot cope on their own and has asked the Army for help.

The problem on the border that the Baltic countries and Poland share with Belarus has been reactivated in recent years after the European Union sanctions the Government of Alexander Lukashenko, which is accused of deliberately sending these people to the bordering areas in retaliation.