Lithuanian border guards stop 38 migrants crossing through tunnel PHOTO

Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT) has stated that it prevented 38 migrants from entering the country after they attempted to cross from Belarus through an underground tunnel on May 26.

The group — 36 men and two women identifying themselves as citizens of Afghanistan and Iran — emerged from the tunnel in Šalčininkai district on the night of May 25 and tried to cross the border, Caliber.Az reports, citing Lithuanian media.

Border guards pursued the group in a forested area in the dark and detained them.

Some of the migrants were found carrying documents.

After their detention, authorities offered humanitarian assistance packages with food and essential supplies, but most of the group reportedly refused help.

VSAT said similar tunnel-based crossing attempts had been recorded earlier in April and May in the Vilnius district.

Lithuanian authorities claim such tunnels are used for illegal entry “not without the knowledge of Belarusian border guards.”

Since the beginning of the year, hundreds of migrants have attempted to enter Lithuania illegally from Belarus, while more than 25,000 attempts have been prevented since the start of the migration crisis in 2021.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov