Фото: wikimedia.org
Estonia plans to deploy additional Police and Border Guard Board personnel to Latvia to strengthen border security. This was reported by ERR. Lithuania has already resumed this practice, sending a small unit of border guards with dogs on two-week rotations to assist its neighbor.
The Estonian authorities decided to send the contingent to Latvia after several dozen migrants who had previously crossed the Latvia-Belarus border were detained in Estonia in recent days.
“The problem must be addressed where it originates. Closing the Schengen Area’s internal borders is a last resort, not the first. If we chase migrants along internal borders, resources will be wasted. We need to tackle the problem at its source — at the external border,” Interior Minister Igor Taro said.
Last week, he visited the Latvian border. According to him, migrants attempting to cross the border illegally have been using homemade wooden ladders, strong ropes, large bolt cutters and even power tools to damage border barriers.
“These are not random people who have found themselves in distress. They are deliberately brought in, provided with tools and instructions, and then sent to storm the Schengen Area’s external border. When border guards order them to step back, they reply: ‘No, we will come here anyway,'” he added.
Taro blamed Aliaksandr Lukashenka for orchestrating the migration pressure.
“The Lukashenka regime is trying to create additional problems for us without directly participating in military operations. This is one way of supporting Russian aggression,” he said.
On Sunday, Latvian border guards recorded 95 attempts to cross the border illegally. Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service recorded no attempted crossings.