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Thousands of people are waiting at the Polish-Belarusian border
Photo: Leonid Shcheglov / imago images / ITAR-TASS
While the situation at the Polish-Belarusian border crossing in Kuznica is increasingly escalating, according to the government in Vilnius it has so far remained stable on the EU's external border between Lithuania and Belarus.
So far, no incidents have been registered, said Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite on Monday in Vilnius.
But the number of refugees who tried to illegally cross the border of the Baltic EU country is increasing.
130 refugees are turned away every day
The groups of refugees are also much larger than they were before the state of emergency imposed the previous week.
According to this, around 130 refugees are turned away on average every day.
They received a humanitarian aid package with essential items from the border guards, said Bilotaite, according to the BNS agency.
In view of the increasing number of refugees on the EU's eastern external border, Lithuania has been in a state of emergency for a month since last Wednesday along the border strip and five kilometers inland.
The government in Vilnius has also sent more police officers to the border, and the army also supports border guards.
The situation on the EU's eastern external border has deteriorated dramatically since last week.
On the Belarusian side on the border with Poland, thousands of refugees are waiting in makeshift camps in the forest at temperatures around freezing point.
In the past few days, groups have repeatedly tried to break through the barrier and illegally cross the border.
muk / dpa