(AP) Lithuania began Friday to erect a fence along its border with Belarus to deter third-country migrants from entering, a week after Vilnius declared a state of emergency to address a sharp rise in migratory flows — which it says Belarusian authorities are encouraging.
Relations between the two neighbors are tense following the August 2020 elections in Belarus, which were won by long-time President Alexander Lukashenko but have been widely condemned by the West as rigged. The vote results triggered months of protests and a harsh crackdown on the opposition by Lukashenko’s authoritarian regime.
Lithuania, which has backed and granted refuge to Belarus opposition figures, accuses its neighbor of organizing the border crossings by people mainly from Iraq, the Middle East and Africa.
