Belarussian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has been accused by EU countries of carrying out a “direct attack” on Europe by sending waves of migrants towards the continent.
According to the EU, Lukashenko is pushing alleged asylum seekers and migrants across the Belarussian border and towards EU member states such as Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, with eastern member states including Greece bracing their borders to repel illegal crossings.
Greece prepares its sea and land borders ahead of Afghanistan migration crisis https://t.co/mqZupjaFLj#greece #greek #greekcitytimes pic.twitter.com/VU0gYCZbDx
— Greek City Times (@greekcitytimes) August 18, 2021
Poland has sent more than 900 troops to its border with Belarus to stop the influx of migrants trying to enter the country.
It has become the destination of choice for many asylum seekers since Lithuania toughened its stance on undocumented arrivals. https://t.co/q5P7IFx1SW
— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope) August 18, 2021
Is Lithuania's 550-km border fence going to be money well spent? https://t.co/giuIVthpuA
— euronews (@euronews) August 18, 2021
Latvian border guards have begun pushing migrants back who were hoping to cross over the border from Belarus.
It is the latest Baltic country to begin this practice after more and more migrants began traveling towards the EU from Belarus. https://t.co/lTtb9O4Wov
— InfoMigrants (@InfoMigrants) August 12, 2021
In a recent statement released after an emergency meeting on the situation, numerous EU interior ministers asserted that Belarus is seeking to “instrumentalise human beings for political purposes.”
“This aggressive behaviour…is unacceptable and amounts to a direct attack aimed at destabilizing and pressurizing the EU.”
EU closes ranks to halt 'direct attack' from Belarus with migrants https://t.co/kCJc9hu12v pic.twitter.com/D87j96ID8k
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 18, 2021
It is believed that Lukashenko’s motive is revenge for EU sanctions against his regime over alleged human rights abuses and crackdowns on dissidents.
We adopted today new restrictive measures against the Belarusian regime.
The EU supports the people of Belarus and their democratic aspirations. #StandWithBelarus https://t.co/CUcf7VO8Hz pic.twitter.com/CkhoJMbdG2— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) June 24, 2021
“We will not hold anyone back,” he said at the time of the sanctions, referring to migrants.
“We are not their final destination after all. They are headed to enlightened, warm, cozy Europe.”
Belarus has been accused of flying Iraqi migrants to Minsk before driving them north to drop them off at the border where they can then cross into EU territory.
According to the UN, there are up to 3.5 million “displaced” people in Afghanistan, all with the potential to make a beeline for Europe.
At the end of 2020, there were 2.9 million Afghans already displaced across the country. By mid-July, this rose to 3.5 million. Many are now in Kabul and other cities. Read our briefing on the displacement of people in Afghanistan. https://t.co/ZiB0stg8Ay
— Commons Library (@commonslibrary) August 17, 2021
By comparison, the migrant crisis of 2015 which proved catastrophic for much of Europe saw only one million new arrivals entering the continent.
https://twitter.com/Ben_Scallan/status/1428277075119587329