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Updated August 14th, 2021 at 12:22 IST

Lithuania faces new challenges on migration front

Lithuanian officials say the influx of Iraqi and other migrants into the Baltic European Union member through allegedly conniving neighbour Belarus looks to have halted.

Lithuanian
AP | Image:self
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Lithuanian officials say the influx of Iraqi and other migrants into the Baltic European Union member through allegedly conniving neighbour Belarus looks to have halted.

But with anger rising among local communities near migrant camps and a pile of asylum bids to be processed, Lithuania now faces an unfamiliar challenge in addressing the crisis.

The UN refugee agency's representative in the region said the "emergency phase" seemed to be over, and Lithuania must now focus on the wellbeing of those inside detention centres and on assessing their claims for international protection.

"It is a bit of a race against time in terms of (the coming) winter and the cold months," Henrik M. Nordentoft told The Associated Press on Friday.

So far this year, more than 4,000 migrants from 40 countries, mostly Iraq, have illegally crossed from Belarus into the nation of just under 3 million.

That's 50 times more than in the whole of 2020.

Lithuania is erecting a border fence, and has built temporary tent camps in the area.

Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite said on Friday that some 1,500 asylum requests are being processed, and a few people have accepted voluntary repatriation.

Lithuania, like neighbouring EU members Latvia, Estonia and Poland, sees the influx as retaliation by Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to increased EU sanctions on his country over Belarus forcing a passenger plane to land in Minsk so authorities could arrest a dissident on board.

Since his re-election to a sixth term in an August 2020 vote that the West had denounced as rigged, Lukashenko has cracked down on opposition protests in his country.

Many Belarusians have sought shelter abroad, including opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya — who is in Lithuania.

Poland says its border with Belarus is also under control now, despite reports of Iraqis and Afghans seeking to cross.

Border guards have detained nearly 900 people this year trying to slip in from Belarus, according to Polish media – up from 122 last year.

Associated Press interviewed with people in Lithuanian camps over several weeks highlight their diverse backgrounds and reasons for attempting to enter the EU.

Juel Fomejuel came from Cameroon, where conflict has killed thousands and displaced at least 700,000 people.

"I just pray that European Union gives me the protection that I need," he told AP, saying that he could not "go back" to his country.

The countries bordering Belarus have denounced the crossings as a "hybrid war," a source of concern for the UNHCR's Nordentoft.

"Hybrid war involves the thoughts of soldiers, weapons," he said.

Nevertheless, tensions have been rising in recent weeks among communities near migrant camps, resulting in sometimes violent protests.

Groups blocked roads for delivery vehicles and were removed only clashes with riot police.

Residents of areas where camps were planned held protest rallies outside the Lithuanian government building in Vilnius and in several local municipalities.

On Wednesday evening, the AP followed a small group of villagers from Rudninkai near the border as they patrolled the streets in high visibility jackets in search of escaped camp residents.

Earlier, 20 migrants had fled but were detained by police the same night.

Another 28 escaped another camp, police said Friday.

"Two weeks ago, Rudninkai was very quiet. But when a huge amount of migrants arrived this calm was disturbed. These people have a completely different culture," said local resident Kristina Slovenska. "We are worried about our safety."

 

 

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Published August 14th, 2021 at 12:22 IST

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