KABUL (Pajhwok): Lithuanian authorities have detained 35 Afghan and Iraqi migrants after they allegedly attempted to illegally cross the Belarus border and enter the country, a media report said on Saturday.
The Maja media outlet, citing Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service, reported that the group entered the Varėna area and the Čepkeliai Nature Reserve on Thursday evening.
It said the migrants had crossed the border near the village of Katra and that border guards used a helicopter, police officers and dog-handling teams to search for them.
According to Lithuanian authorities, the detainees were men aged between about 20 and 30 and did not resist the security forces.
The report noted that 11 of them had identity documents, while all the detainees said they were citizens of Afghanistan and Iraq.
It added that following individual checks, 29 of the migrants were barred from entering Lithuania by Friday morning and returned to Belarus. Talks with five others were continuing, while one migrant was transferred to a medical centre after complaining of health problems.
Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service said it had prevented more than 1,600 people from illegally entering the country from Belarus in 2025.
According to the report, about 26,200 migrants have been prevented from entering Lithuania since the start of the migration crisis.
However, the report did not specify the exact number of Afghan nationals among the 35 migrants.
kk
