114 migrants were detained on Wednesday and the number of Iraqis arriving from Belarus exceeded 2,000.

All detainees will be screened for COVID-19 and isolated until results are available. The circumstances of the events are being clarified, investigations are being carried out. Asylum seekers have been notified by the Department of Migration, which processes such applications.

This year 3,145 illegal immigrants tried to enter Lithuania from Belarus until midnight from Wednesday to Thursday. This figure is 39 times higher than in 2020. Last year, 81 of these foreigners were arrested on the other side of the border with Lithuania. 2019 46 illegal immigrants were caught by border guards in 2018; – 104, 2017 – 72.

This July, border guards detained 2,484 migrants. There were 473 in June, 77 in May, 70 in April, and 8 in March.

Among those detained on the border with Belarus this year there are mostly Iraqi citizens or foreigners who came forward: 2,005,191 Congolese, 129 Cameroonians, 84 Syrians, 83 Russians, 81 Iranians, 79 Guineans, 77 Afghans and other nationals were also detained. .

Since the beginning of the year, according to preliminary data, the largest number of migrants was detained in Šalčininkai district – 703. In Druskininkai municipality, 664 foreigners illegally arrived from Belarus, Varėna – 659, Ignalina – 440, Švenčionys – 323, Lazdijai – 176, Vilna – 145, Zarasai – 35.
A large part of the detainees seek to enter Western European countries through Lithuania.

With a significant increase in the number of such cases, SBGS has strengthened border security with Belarus. In addition to various organizational measures, officials from other SBGS units were assigned to this section and additional technical resources were assigned. In addition, the border guards were assisted by forces from other Lithuanian institutions, including the army, as well as officials from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency FRONTEX and Estonia.