Russia, Belarus Funnel 11,000 Migrants Toward Latvia as Election Nears
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 2
Russia, Belarus Funnel 11,000 Migrants Toward Latvia as Election Nears
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 2
Summary
More than 11,000 migrants have been turned away at Latvia’s border this year, with officials accusing Russian and Belarusian intelligence services of orchestrating the flow ahead of Saturday’s parliamentary election.
Latvian authorities say criminal gangs fly migrants from the Middle East and Africa into Russia or Belarus, then move them to forest borders with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, sometimes with state-backed transport.
August fence-cutting and camera-smashing incidents, along with migrants burrowing under border barriers, are being treated as parts of a targeted campaign rather than isolated breaches.
Latvia says the aim is to inflame immigration tensions in a country of under 2 million people and boost candidates seen as more friendly to Moscow.