Riga [Latvia], September 20: Latvia is temporarily closing one of its two border crossings with neighbouring Belarus in response to the rising number of attempted illegal border crossings, the government said on Tuesday.
The Silene checkpoint will be closed until further notice, but the other crossing between Latvia, an EU member state, and Belarus will remain open, with border traffic from the Silene crossover sent there, authorities said.
Concentrating border crossings to one area would allow more personnel to be deployed to monitor and protect the border, Interior Minister RihardsKozlovskis said on Latvian
television.
"The pressure of illegal immigration has tripled in a short period of time," the Interior Ministry in Riga announced.
In the past six days, the Latvian Border Guard prevented 894 people from crossing the border illegally. So far in September there have been 1,800 attempts to cross the border illegally, compared to 1,600 for August. (DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune
