Latvia: Latvian Defence Minister Ms. Inara Murniece has ordered the army to guard the country’s border with Belarus. The moves came at a time of “hybrid threats” facing the country, and a reported 96 attempts were made by people to cross the border in 24 hours.
“Latvian Border Guard officers have been recalled from their holidays to help with patrols,” officials stated.
Latvia has “information about a possible increase in hybrid threats”, the Border Guard said in a statement, noting that Belarusian authorities are increasingly involved in organising the flow of people, many of whom are asylum seekers and refugees, across Latvia’s borders. Due to the threats, the Border Guard imposed a holiday ban. Furthermore, the Defence Minister ordered the army to deploy additional forces to the border.
The country accuses Belarus President Mr. Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately bringing people from crisis-hit regions of the world to its border.
European Union members Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland have expressed increasing worry about “illegal” border crossings since hundreds of battle-hardened Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group arrived in Belarus last month at the invitation of President Mr. Lukashenko.
“Poland, which has also reported an increase in the number of mainly Middle Eastern and African people trying to cross the border in recent months, is planning to move up to 10,000 additional troops to the border with Belarus to support its border guards,” Polish Defence Minister Mr. Mariusz Blaszczak recently stated.
In 2021, Latvia, Poland, and Lithuania faced a border crisis when thousands of people, mostly from the Middle East and Africa, sought to cross into Poland from Belarus but were pushed back.
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