Lithuanian guards turn back 31 migrants at Belarus border

Lithuanian border guards turned back 31 migrants at the border with Belarus over the past 24 hours, including 16 who crossed a barrier using ladders, LRT reported, citing the State Border Guard Service (VSAT).

The two groups were reported in the Dieveniškės loop in Šalčininkai district and near Padvarionys in Vilnius district. VSAT adviser Giedrius Mišutis told ELTA that migrants used several ladders to climb over the physical barrier. After crossing, they split into three groups and tried to scatter in a nearby forest, but border guards responded.

The 16 migrants who entered Lithuania had no documents. Nine said they were Iranian citizens, five Afghan and two Pakistani. Officials assessed each person individually and found no threats or need for medical care. They were returned to Belarus with humanitarian packages containing water, food and items intended to help in open areas.

Another 15 migrants approached the border with ladders in the Dieveniškės loop, but patrols arrived quickly and the group fled back to Belarus, Mišutis said.

Latvian border guards turned away 27 migrants on Wednesday, while Polish officials reported no such cases. Lithuanian officials prevented more than 1,600 people from entering the country from Belarus at unauthorised locations last year and 1,726 so far this year. Since the migration crisis began, about 26,300 people have been refused entry. Migrants began arriving in eastern European Union countries in 2021, and Western countries blamed the Minsk regime.