Riga,
Latvia on Tuesday declared a local state of emergency along the border with Belarus following an influx of migrants from the middle East after neighbouring Lithuania began sending migrants back.
In the last 24 hours, some 200 migrants have crossed over from Belarus into Latvia, an EU and NATO member state of 1.9 million people.
Poland, which also shares a border with Belarus, has reported 349 migrants arriving since Friday.
“The emergency regime means that the border between Latvia and Belarus will be practically closed to everybody,” Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said after the cabinet approved the emergency to last from Wednesday until November 10.
Latvian border guard patrols have already been reinforced by army soldiers, police officers and guards from the EU’s Frontex border agency.—APP
