Latvia's border with Belarus sees sharp increase in migrant arrivals
Latvian authorities have deployed additional border guards and troops to the border with Belarus amid a growing influx of migrants.
The Latvian Border Guard said on Tuesday that it had mobilised additional border guards to strengthen the protection of the country's external border. The border guard also said that it had suspended holidays for its staff.
The Ministry of Defense said that it had sent additional troops to the border to support the border guards.
The measures were announced after Latvian authorities said that they had intercepted 96 people trying to enter the country illegally from Belarus on Monday night.
This is one of the highest figures in recent months, according to local media.
So far this year, 5,799 migrants have been prevented from entering Latvia through the Latvian-Belarus border, while 292 have been admitted to the country on humanitarian grounds. The number already exceeds the 5,286 people intercepted in the whole of 2022.
The term "hybrid warfare" is used by Baltic governments and security analysts in reference to Belarus' strategy of attracting migrants, mostly from the Middle East, and then pressuring them to cross borders into neighbouring European countries Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
