Latvian authorities have discovered a tunnel that migrants used to illegally cross the border from Belarus. On Monday, border guards found 15 people who had passed through a 10-meter tunnel near the border fence between Belarus and Latvia. This was reported on Tuesday by Latvia’s Minister of Internal Affairs Janis Dombrava.
The discovery of the tunnel comes amid long-standing concerns that Minsk is using migration as a hybrid weapon against the European Union. Janis Dombrava called the illegal border crossings from Belarus a “hybrid threat.” This year, Latvian authorities have prevented more than 9,000 attempts to illegally cross the border from Belarus, according to a press release from the Latvian State Border Guard.
First case in Latvia
This is the first case where a tunnel has been used for illegal crossing of the state border into Latvia. According to Janis Dombrava, violations had not been previously recorded in this particular location, nor had any individuals been detained for illegally crossing the state border. The minister wrote this on the platform X.
Previously, according to Baltic media, tunnels had already been found in Lithuania. The authorities returned all 15 individuals to the country from which they arrived and continue to inspect the area around the tunnel.
Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his regime supports Moscow’s war against Ukraine and holds a hostile position toward the EU. On Tuesday, Latvia began an operation to strengthen border security.
Source: Politico
