Lithuania turns back 19 migrants at Belarus border

Lithuanian border guards turned back 19 irregular migrants at the border with Belarus over the past day, LRT reported on Friday, citing the State Border Guard Service.

Latvian border guards turned back 39 migrants on Thursday, while Polish authorities recorded no attempts to cross the border illegally on Wednesday.

Lithuania has refused entry to more than 1,700 irregular migrants so far this year. Last year, people attempted to enter the country from Belarus at unauthorised locations more than 1,600 times, compared with 1,002 attempts the year before.

The influx of migrants from Belarus to the eastern EU member states began in 2021. Western countries accuse the Minsk regime of organising it.