(Reuters) A dozen Belarusian officers in riot gear illegally crossed into Lithuanian territory on Tuesday while pushing a group of 35 Iraqi migrants over the border, Lithuania’s border guard service said.
Lithuania, a member of the European Union, accuses Belarus of deliberately flying in Iraqi migrants to Minsk and then ferrying them over the border to claim asylum as retaliation for sanctions imposed by the EU on the former Soviet republic.
“The officers left the territory after several minutes, after being told repeatedly by Lithuanian border guards they had violated the border,” said border guard service spokesperson Rokas Pukinskas.
Lithuania says a total of 4,124 people have crossed into its territory illegally so far this year, mostly in July, though only 14 entered between Aug. 5 and 16, as Lithuania began pushing back the migrants entering from Belarus.
