Lithuania's State Border Guard Service detained 38 migrants attempting to enter the country from Belarus via an underground tunnel.
According to LRT, 36 men and two women, who claimed to be from Afghanistan and Iran, tried to cross the border by emerging from a tunnel in the Šalčininkai district. Border guards chased them through a forested area in the dark and apprehended them.
Some migrants had identification documents. After detention, they were offered humanitarian aid packages with food and basic necessities, but most refused. The Lithuanian Border Guard noted that similar attempts via underground tunnels were recorded earlier in April and May in the Vilnius district.
Lithuanian authorities suspect that such tunnels are built with the knowledge of Belarusian border guards. Since early this year, hundreds of migrants have tried to illegally enter Lithuania from Belarus. Since the migration crisis began in 2021, Lithuanian border guards have prevented over 25,000 illegal crossing attempts.
