Migrants have been actively using tunnels to enter Lithuania from Belarus this year. Rustamas Liubajevas, head of Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service, said border guards have already discovered 10 underground passages this year.
“The longest tunnel we have discovered extended about 25 metres into the territory of the Republic of Lithuania. It should also be understood that part of the tunnel was on the Belarusian side, but it is very difficult to determine its full length. Most likely, the total length of such a tunnel is around 30 to 40 metres,” he said, according to LRT.
According to him, the tunnels are often dug to a depth of eight metres, with their interiors reinforced with timber. The border guard chief believes these details indicate that Belarusian authorities are assisting the migrants, at the very least by not obstructing them and possibly by providing direct support.
“This is complex work requiring specific skills and logistics: timber has to be delivered to reinforce the tunnel. This once again proves that not only migrants are involved in these activities, but that the Belarusian side is also making an active contribution, possibly by providing logistical support or allowing migrants to operate in the border area. This suggests that the regime in the neighbouring country has not abandoned its intention of maintaining tensions on our border,” he said.
According to Liubajevas, Lithuanian border guards received support and advice from their Polish counterparts, who encountered tunnels earlier. The Lithuanian side also tested equipment capable of detecting underground excavation work. It was provided by the Polish border service. Lithuania now plans to purchase the equipment for permanent use.
At the same time, Liubajevas believes the Belarusian side is now less involved in organizing logistics for migrants.
“Whereas during the illegal migration crisis the Lukashenka regime actively organized travel to Belarus, continued to support migrants by transporting them to the border and actively forcing them into the territory of the European Union, today we no longer see such extensive involvement in logistical support.
However, we continue to record assistance and support from the regime to migrants once they reach the European Union border (…). We have also observed that officials from A. Lukashenka’s regime sometimes damage the physical barrier. Such incidents most often occur on the border between Latvia and Belarus,” he added.
According to him, the migrants most frequently detected now come from Afghanistan, Pakistan and African countries.
