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Vilnius: People from Iraq and Syria with no papers turning up in record numbers to claim asylum (Photo: FromTheNorth)

Belarus using migrants to counter-attack EU

Lithuania has become a new "eastern front-line" for irregular migration, after Belarus began "weaponising" people in its clash with the EU, Lithuania's foreign ministry has said.

The number of migrants crossing to Lithuania jumped eight-fold in the first half of this year, with some 600 cases recorded so far in 2021 and 412 cases in June alone.

By comparison, there were 74 in 2020 and just 37 in 2019.

Most migrants were originally from Iraq, but there were also increasing...

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