The number of attempts to illegally cross the Latvian-Belarusian border observed recently is abnormal, said Ministry of the Interior deputy state secretary Vilnis Vītoliņš at a meeting with Saeima’s Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee.
In January 2022 alone Latvian State Border Guard uncovered more than 1 500 attempts. The number of such attempts observed in February so far has already exceeded 300, Vītoliņš told the committee.
On Tuesday, 8 February, Saeima’s committee approved the extension of the state of emergency in Ludza, Krāslava, Augšdaugava and Daugavpils until 10 May 2022.
The committee did not hold wider discussions about the situation on the Latvian-Belarusian border.
As previously reported, considering the tense situation on the Latvian-Belarusian border, Latvia’s government decided to extend the state of emergency in the border region.
The state of emergency was originally declared in summer 2021.
It is believed the influx of migrants to the borders of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia is orchestrated by the regime of Aleksandr Lukashenko in Belarus. Most of those migrants come from Iraq.
Ministry official: illegal immigration pressure on Latvian-Belarusian border is abnormal
