Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė visited the Foreigners’ Registration Center (URC) in Pabradė, eastern Lithuania on June 12, where a temporary camp is being built to accommodate up to 350 people, as the existing facilities are almost full.
The tents would only be offered to single males, while families with children, people with disabilities, the elderly or otherwise vulnerable people would be accommodated in other premises, according to Bilotaitė. Some 328 undocumented migrants have been detained while crossing into Lithuania from Belarus this year, including 140 people since June 1.
Following the international uproar to the forced grounding of a Vlnius-bound Ryanair flight in Minsk, Belarus’ Alexander Lukashenko said his country would no longer stop “drugs and migrants”. Lithuania’s officials have then alleged that Belarusian officers are complicit in facilitating the crossings. The number of undocumented migrants entering Lithuania has been increasing following a slump last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On June 14, the Minister said there is no need to declare a state of emergency over the influx of irregular migrants entering Lithuania from Belarus. An informal cabinet meeting was held on June 13 to discuss migrant flows and challenges to Lithuania’s migration system. Joint coordinated action and mutual support was agreed upon, with assessment of existing capabilities and planned assistance from international partners.
Following the international uproar over the forced grounding of a Vilnius-bound Ryanair flight in Minsk, Belarus’ Alexander Lukashenko said his country would no longer stop “drugs and migrants” entering the EU. Lithuania’s officials later alleged that Belarusian officers were complicit in facilitating the crossings. The number of undocumented migrants entering Lithuania has increased following a slump last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lithuanian border guards have detained 387 irregular migrants, mainly Iraqi citizens, crossing into Lithuania from Belarus this year, compared to 81 last year, 46 in 2019 and 104 in 2018.
News from BNS/LRT.lt
