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Since the beginning of the year, 392 third-country nationals who have illegally crossed the Lithuanian state border from Belarus have been detained. This year from June 1. Until 16 June. 204 migrants crossed the border illegally.
Border protection with Belarus is already being improved and other state institutions and services are being mobilized and involved.
The State Border Guard Service is assisted by officials from the Public Security Service and members of the Riflemen’s Union. On the Dieveniškės circuit, which is surrounded by the territory of Belarus, the police forces also began to work. Tent construction near the Alien Registration Center began on Friday. Two camps were set up, with 80 places to isolate people by quarantine and 270 places to house them. The camps began operating this week.
After a three-day break, the illegal immigrants were again detained at the border with Belarus, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Wednesday.
Four undocumented foreigners, according to preliminary data, may be Iraqi citizens. They applied for asylum.
On Wednesday after midnight, the Tverečius border guard officers of the SBGS Vilnius border team detained four people who had just violated the Belarusian border in the village of Vosiūnai in the Ignalina district. They had no documents and presented themselves as Iraqi citizens.
They spent the night at the Tverečius firebreak, where they applied for asylum.
Detainees will be screened for COVID-19 and aliens will be isolated pending the results. Their identities are established. The circumstances of the event are being clarified, an investigation is underway, announces the SBGS.
The last time illegal immigrants arriving from Belarus were detained by Lithuanian border guards on Sunday night. This time, in the Ignalina district, agents of the Puškai border guard from the Vilnius border team captured two groups, 21 and 27 people.
This year, 391 illegal immigrants from Belarus tried to enter Lithuania. Most of them are Iraqi citizens. That number is almost five times higher than it was in 2020.
Last year, 81 of those foreigners were arrested. In 2019, border guards captured 46 illegal immigrants, and in 2018, 104.
With the recent increase in the number of such cases, SBGS has strengthened border security with Belarus. In addition to various organizational measures, border guards from other units were assigned to this section and additional technical resources were assigned.
In addition, forces from the Public Security Service, the Riflemen’s Union and other institutions were used to assist the border guards.
Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė has said that the increased flow of illegal immigrants is a conscious policy of the regime against the Lithuanian state. According to her, this indicates the beginning of a hybrid war.
In late May, the country’s authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko told the Belarusian parliament that Belarus would no longer detain the migrants following the international reaction to the forced landing of a passenger plane in Minsk.
SBGS commander Rustama Liubayev says that in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, there may be around 1.5 thousand. migrants seeking to enter the European Union illegally.
In Minsk there may be about 1.5 thousand. immigrants seeking to enter the EU illegally
In the Belarusian capital Minsk there may be about 1.5 thousand. migrants seeking to enter the European Union illegally, says the head of the State Border Guard Service (SBGS).
“Recently, these groups of illegal immigrants have been crossing the border constantly, almost every night. According to our information, a large enough group of illegal immigrants has accumulated in Minsk, and those arriving from Baghdad or Istanbul are constantly replenishing it, ”SBGS chief Rustam Liubayev told reporters on Tuesday.
He spoke with Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonyte during a visit to the Alexander Barauskas border post.
According to him, these people can start moving towards the border at any time.
When asked if flight times correlate with illegal immigrant flows, Liubajev said “that conclusion could be reached by evaluating the size of illegal immigrant groups.”
Over the weekend, in Švenčionys and Ignalina districts, border guards detained 58 migrants who had entered Lithuania illegally from Belarus. There were no such attempts to cross the Lithuanian border from Belarus on Monday and Tuesday.
“We know that the situation at the border is very dynamic.” Illegal immigrants will appear without a doubt, “said the commander of the border guards.
According to him, it is currently becoming difficult to predict in which specific place they will try to cross the border.
“We have noticed a tendency for illegal immigrant groups to travel almost the entire length of the protected section of the state border. (…) It is difficult to predict the situation, but we still have several scenarios and we plan our actions based on them, ”explained R. Liubajev.
European aid – mid July
In the border section with Belarus, reinforced forces work, border guards are assisted by the Public Security Service, shooters and cooperation with colleagues in Latvia and Poland.
“We have also coordinated action plans with Polish colleagues and organized joint measures. It is very important to exchange information and we have some results when, according to our information, illegal immigrants leaving the Foreigners Registration Center have been detained in Poland and returned to us, ”said R. Liubajev.
“We believe that such measures would reduce the desire and motivation to cross the territory of Lithuania,” he added.
The SBGS commander also stated that a group of experts from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex should arrive in Lithuania this week.
“It will evaluate the technical and operational aspects so that the European border guards can start monitoring the border from mid-July,” the border commander commented.
As previously reported by SBGS, some 30 border guards from the European Union should come to Lithuania.
I. Šimonytė: you must be prepared for surprises
This week, a tent camp for illegal immigrants was set up at the Alien Registration Center in Pabradė. This infrastructure was provided by the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
“So far, the army is contributing its logistical capabilities. (…) We really believe that we are working as we do now, if other solutions are needed, those other decisions will be made,” said Prime Minister I. Šimonytė.
He stated that SBGS coordinates its work with other institutions.
“The situation is that he, like the covid, needs to be managed here and now depending on what it is. It is impossible to predict exactly what the situation will be in a week. We need to be prepared for various surprises, “said the Prime Minister.
I. Šimonytė also stated that he was discussing with Lithuania both the members of the European Commission and the representatives of the governments of other countries “about certain bilateral cooperation, about solving this problem.”
“There are funding issues, there are many different issues that I think Lithuania can reasonably raise and raise in this context,” explained the Head of Government.
To protect the border, Lithuania is accelerating the implementation of the Lithuanian-Belarusian border surveillance systems. They currently control 38 percent. border. This requires an additional € 38 million. Some of the funding is already planned for this year’s budget review.
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