Latvia renews migration-related state of emergency on Belarus border

Latvia again extended its state of emergency along the border with neighbouring Belarus until May 10, the Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday.
The state of emergency was first imposed in August 2021 when thousands of people were attempting to illegally cross the country's external EU border from Belarus.
With the extension, Latvia's border guard retains the power to send back migrants who entered the country illegally from Belarus.
According to the Interior Ministry, the number of attempted illegal border crossings has increased again since November.
Another factor in the decision, it said, was that Latvia - unlike Poland and Lithuania - had not yet erected a permanent fence along its border with Belarus.
The extension also took into account neighbouring Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which is supported by the leadership in Minsk.
According to Interior Ministry data, more than 9,600 attempts to cross the border illegally have been registered in Latvia since the state of emergency was declared.
The European Union has accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of bringing migrants from crisis regions to the EU's external border in an organized manner.