- Title: Latvian border guards stop migrants trying to cross from Belarus
- Date: 11th August 2021
- Summary: VORZOVA, LATVIA (AUGUST 11, 2021) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) GROUP OF MIGRANTS WITH CHILDREN STANDING AND SITTING MAN LOOKING AT BANDAGED LEG OF MAN LYING ON GROUND GROUP OF MIGRANTS WITH CHILDREN / LATVIAN BORDER GUARDS TELLING MIGRANTS TO STAND UP GROUP STARTING TO WALK ACROSS A FIELD ADULTS AND CHILDREN WALKING TWO MEN HELPING MAN WITH BANDAGED LEG TO WALK GROUP SITTING BY ROADSIDE WOMAN WEARING MASK SPEAKING TO JOURNALIST WOMAN WITH MASK SMILING MIGRANTS SITTING AND LOOKING ON BOY WEARING MASK GROUP OF MIGRANTS SITTING ON GROUND/ BORDER GUARD SPEAKING TO MIGRANT IN BACKGROUND MAN SITTING ON GROUND SPEAKING MIGRANTS SITTING ON GROUND HANDS PLAYING WITH SAND MIGRANTS SITTING AND STANDING BORDER GUARDS WATCHING GROUP OF MIGRANTS BADGE ON SHOULDER WITH TEXT READING (Latvian): "BORDER GUARD" BORDER GUARDS WATCHING GROUP OF MIGRANTS SITTING ON GROUND LATVIA-BELARUS BORDER (AUGUST 11, 2021) (REUTERS) LATVIAN BORDER GUARDS ON ROAD BORDER GUARD STANDING BY LATVIAN AND BELARUSIAN BORDER MARKERS GROUP OF MIGRANTS ON BELARUSIAN SIDE OF BORDER/ LATVIAN BORDER GUARDS IN FOREGROUND GROUP OF MIGRANTS SITTING AMONG BUSHES ON BELARUSIAN SIDE OF BORDER / CHILDREN SHOUTING MIGRANTS SITTING ON BELARUSIAN SIDE OF BORDER VARIOUS OF LATVIAN BORDER GUARDS STANDING ON ROAD GROUP OF MIGRANTS STANDING ON BELARUSIAN SIDE OF BORDER LATVIAN BORDER GUARDS STANDING ON ROAD MIGRANTS ON BELARUSIAN SIDE OF BORDER/ SMOKE FROM CAMPFIRE SIGN READING (Latvian/Russian/English): "STOP! STATE BORDER" LATVIA AND BELARUS BORDER MARKERS
- Embargoed: 25th August 2021 10:54
- Keywords: Alexandar Lukashenko Belarus Belarus border Belarusian government Latvia Latvian border migrants migrants crossing from Belarus
- Location: VORZOVA, LATVIA / LATVIA-BELARUS BORDER
- City: VORZOVA, LATVIA / LATVIA-BELARUS BORDER
- Country: Latvia
- Topics: Europe,Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001EPU70HZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Latvian border guards stopped a group of around 30 migrants attempting to cross the country's border with Belarus overnight on Wednesday (August 11) and returned them to Belarusian territory.
On Tuesday (August 10) the Latvian government declared a state of emergency in border areas, which allows its military and police to support border guards.
The border guard, armed forces and police will be authorised to instruct illegal immigrants to return to the country they came from, and use physical force if they refuse, the Baltic News Service (BNS) said.
The state of emergency runs from Wednesday until November 10 and requires the approval of parliament, which is expected on Thursday (August 12).
A Latvian border guard spokesman in the Robeznieki district told Reuters the group, who were from Iraq, had been turned away because they were trying to cross at an unauthorised crossing point and told to go to the nearest official border crossing 30 km (20 miles) away.
Some 283 people have been detained for illegally crossing into Latvia from Belarus since August 6, BNS said, bringing the total for the year to 343 people.
In neighbouring Lithuania, where more than 4,000 migrants have crossed from Belarus so far this year, parliament voted to build a four-metre (13 feet) metal fence topped with razor wire on 508 km (316 miles) of the 670 km border it shares with Belarus.
Rising numbers of migrants have reached Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, which accuse Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of using the issue to press the EU to reverse sanctions.
(Production: Janis Laizans, Lewis Macdonald) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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