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Thursday, 19 August 2021

Lithuania says Belarus officers illegally pushed migrants over border

Lithuania has accused 12 Belarusian officers in riot gear of illegally entering its territory to push a group of migrants over the border.

Lithuania’s border service said the Belarusians were repeatedly told they had violated the border during the tense incident on Tuesday.

But Belarus disputed this and accused Lithuanian guards of violence towards migrants.

EU ministers will meet later to discuss a recent migrant influx from Belarus.

More than 4,100 mostly Iraqi migrants have entered EU member Lithuania illegally from neighbouring Belarus so far this year.

The rise in illegal crossings started in June after the EU imposed sanctions on long-time Belarusian President President Alexander Lukashenko.

Lithuania and its allies have accused Belarus of flying in migrants from the Middle East to send across the border, in retaliation for EU sanctions. Belarus has denied this claim.

Tuesday’s incident on the border is the latest rupture in Lithuania-Belarus relations, which have soured considerably in recent months.

Lithuania’s border service released a video of the incident, which showed 12 Belarusian officers armed with shields and riot gear standing in formation as migrants scrambled towards Lithuanian territory in a ditch below.

Later in the video, the Belarusians appear to enter the ditch which the Lithuanian border guards say marks the border.

Lithuania’s interior ministry said 35 migrants had been “forcibly pushed” by the Belarusians.

Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė said Lithuanian border guards would step up patrols in response to the “provocation”.

Earlier, Belarus’s border service released its own video, which does not show the 12 officers in riot gear, nor the alleged crossing into Lithuanian territory.

A video showing migrants trying to enter Lithuanian territory as border guards push them back
image caption Lithuanian border guards were filmed pushing the migrants back as they tried to enter the country

In the video, Lithuanian border guards can be seen grappling with migrants, some of whom are pushed to the floor.

The Belarusian border service accused Lithuanian guards of deliberately ignoring “all requests for asylum”.

Map

Mr Lukashenko has repeatedly warned that Belarusian authorities will no longer stop an influx of illegal migrants from abroad to EU members.

On Tuesday Lithuanian border guard chief Rustamas Liubajevas said tensions remained high on the Belarus-Lithuania border, where Lithuania’s parliament last week voted to build a fence.

In the meantime, dozens of arrivals have been turned away under Lithuania’s controversial policy to push back migrants. But Mr Liubavas said Belarus border guards were “actively pushing irregular migrants to the Lithuanian side”.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned President Lukashenko for using refugees to “undermine security” and put pressure on the EU.

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