Barefoot migrants pushed by Belarus across Lithuanian border, says minister
Belarus is pushing migrants across the Lithuanian border barefoot in a bid to exert pressure on the country, Lithuania's government said on Wednesday.
Interior Minister Agne Bilotaitė told reporters that nine people had been found without shoes, and without proper winter clothes, adding that two migrants were hospitalised.
This follows reports that a Sri Lankan man lost his leg and five toes to frostbite after being trapped in no- man's land between Belarus and Lithuania earlier this month.
Since 2021, Lithuania and Belarus have ping-ponged migrants back and forth across each other's borders, following geo-political tensions between the two.
Many of the migrants -- mostly from the Middle East and South East Asia -- were reportedly purposefully brought to Belarus, which the EU has accused of engineering the crisis in response to sanctions.
In a statement, Bilotaitė said trying to cross the border barefoot would not be sufficient grounds for entry into Lithuania, or for asylum.
"The fact that people arrive at the border barefoot will not be a reason to let them in," she said.
"Our message is that such attempts will not be a reason to enter Lithuania."
Four of the nine individuals taken to hospital were offered the chance to apply for asylum.
Lithuanian border forces have been accused of repeatedly pushing back migrants trying to cross its border with Belarus, often violently.
Once on the other side, Belarussian authorities typically force them back again.
Hundreds of people are thought to be currently trapped between the two countries and have set up camp in sub-zero temperatures.
Thousands of migrants have been affected, aid groups say.
"They are deliberately kept there, not released. They are not provided with [warm
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