Latvia shuts one of its two Belarus border crossings

Latvia's government has decided to close one of its two Belarus border crossing points in a bid to prevent illegal immigration.

Staff from the Silene border station will be redeployed to guard the actual border in what Latvia's border guard chief has described as "the most tense situation since 2021" due to an influx of migrants from Belarus, Reuters informs, citing Latvian media.

As reported, guards have turned back 894 people attempting to cross the border in the last six days, taking September's total to 1,773.

In 2021, Latvia, Poland and Lithuania faced an immigration crisis when thousands of people, mostly from the Middle East and Africa, began crossing from Belarus. They eventually resorted to pushing them back, a policy that is still in place.

Poland and Lithuania have fenced their borders with Belarus and the new Latvian government has pledged to finish its fence by the end of the year.