Photo: Alexander Welscher/picture alliance via Getty Images
Latvia closed its border with Belarus on July 31, citing “technical reasons,” according to Latvian Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava.
Jānis Dombrava urged citizens who are still in Belarus to return to Latvia via other routes, Nasha Niva reported.
The day before, the minister recommended that Latvian residents not plan trips to Belarus, citing potential problems with safe movement amidst a “hybrid war from Belarus.”
Until now, only one border crossing point operated between Belarus and Latvia: Hryhorawshchyna — Pāternieki.
The decision was made amid a growing number of attempts by migrants to illegally cross the Belarusian-Latvian border. According to Latvian authorities, dozens of such attempts have been recorded daily in recent weeks.