Latvian Border Guard Head: Migrants Want To Return Home, But They Are Pushed Out Of Belarus

• 16.08.2021, 11:55

This year, Latvian border guards have returned 395 border violators.

The majority of migrants, detained on the border between Latvia and Belarus, wanted to return home as soon as possible, but they were pushed out of Belarus by force. This was stated by the head of the Latvian Border Guard, Guntis Pujats, on air of the Latvian Radio, reports Delfi, citing LETA.

This year, Latvian border guards have returned to Belarus 395 border crossers, who tried to enter the country illegally. The largest number of migrants was recorded last Thursday - 101 people. On other days, an average of about 50 people tried to cross the Latvian border.

According to Pujats, when migrants are stopped while crossing the border, they are told that crossing the border illegally is a crime.

Pujats noted that the migrants are unhappy with the current situation and a lot of them stated that they wanted to get back home to Iraq as soon as possible, but the Belarusians were pushing them across the border by force.

We remind that last week, the Latvian Defense Ministry published on its portal a video, made at the Belarusian-Latvian border. It shows migrants, who are driven to the border by the Belarusian law enforcement officers and are not allowed to return.

As previously reported, this year there has been a sharp increase in the flow of migrants trying to illegally cross the border to the EU from Belarus. Most of the migrants detained by Lithuania were going to other Western European countries.