The EU border guard agency Frontex is starting a new mission near the Lithuanian-Belarusian border after concluding the five-month Rapid Border Intervention operation.
Rustamas Liubajevas, commander of Lithuania's State Border Guard Service (VSAT), says the new operation, dubbed Flexible Operational Activities, will be continued until the end of January.
Read more: Migration crisis in Baltics and Poland
Frontex's new mission should involve around 50 EU border guards. There have been more than 100 up until now. Smaller forces will work in the country as the border situation has slightly improved.
Almost 4,200 irregular migrants have crossed into Lithuania from Belarus so far this year, over 7,600 more have been pushed back from the border.
Vilnius accuses the Minsk regime of orchestrating migrant smuggling, calling it “hybrid aggression”.
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